Expanding the Universe
by Twofer
Summary: One shots expanding upon the universe in which "Raising Amelia" takes place, including special chapters.
1. A Glimpse of the Future

**[AN: Very rare occasion that we put the authors note at the beginning, but this is special. This first is an aniversery gift; Raising Amelia is one year old today! Thank you for sticking with us. Also, this story - not the chapter - is going to be added to. Just pieces of the Universe Raising Amelia takes place in that expand upon the story in ways we can't fit in, like Mickey's back story after Davros and other events that enhance the story but just can't be worked in currently. _Now that that long winded ramble session is out of the way, Enjoy this glimpse into the future!_]**

"What do you think, Yumo?" Amy asked, tilting her sketch pad so he could see the finished drawing. It was a decent copy of the arena on Rome where they use to fight.

Yumo sneezed and rubbed at his nose with his paws.

"Everyone's a critic." Amy laughed and placed it aside for now to work on it more at a later time. She stood off the floor and stretched to pop her back. She climbed up onto the top bunk of her bed and relaxed back with her head on the pillow. The ceiling was almost within reach, but far enough out she couldn't hurt herself by sitting upright quickly.

It was covered in photographs she'd taken, laced together with ribbons, stickers, glitter and glow in the dark stars. A photo of Luke laughing was taped next to a photo of Rory and Tish mugging for the camera next to River smiling and waving with Anita and Dave on a postcard signed _'wish you were here, sweetie'_ mingling with dozens of others.

She traced some of the photos with her fingertips, she got to visit Earth today, and it was going to be fun! Amy relaxed and gazed at the photos happily as she dug a sucker out from under the pillow. It wasn't hidden because she couldn't have it, but because the top bunk was out of Yumo's and the Doctor's reach.

"AMELIA!" the Doctor yelled, interrupting her thoughts as she lay on the bunk bed. "AMELIA!" she heard him yell again.

"Coming!" Amy yelled back, scrambling back down the ladder. She took off running through the corridors, Yumo at her heels. There wasn't really a need to run, but running was fun!

"I've got something I need to pick up." the Doctor told Amy as she slid into the console room, Yumo skidding on the glass behind her.

"Oh? Where at?" Amy asked curiously. "Do we have time before Earth?" she asked curiously as she tried hard to not to bounce, they were supposed to see them today.

"We're in a TARDIS, there's ALWAYS Time." he scoffed, waving her off. "Take your side." He said laughing.

Amy smiled and stepped forward to man the, very, few controls he trusted her with. "Where to?" she asked bouncing at the chance to help pilot the TARDIS.

"Space Florida." the Doctor laughed enthusiastically.

* * *

Space Florida was one of Amy's favorite places to be. The sand was always clean, the water always warm, the sun was always shining and it was always busy. Plus, they had several theme parks that were amazing! Some of them had rollercoasters that made you feel like you were flying into orbit and they had rides that spun in circles until your head was swirly and you couldn't walk straight.

She'd spent one of her 8th birthday parties at one of their theme parks. It was amazing, even when Rory got sick on one of the rides.

She loved the small booths set up on the wooden docks above the crystal clear water most of all. They were so bright and were all full of different things. Some were brilliantly decorated and filled with toys, some were set up like arcades and some sold all sorts of odd food.

She was even dressed appropriately to fit in with the crowds. Khaki shorts hung to just above her knees, held up by a white belt. Her shirt was black with an unbuttoned pink long-sleeved shirt over top; her white tennies lit up with lights every time she stepped and on top of her head rested her favorite hat, a gift for her birthday: A fedora. It was black with a pink leopard print band around the middle and it kept her hair back and shaded her face.

Yumo wore his less than favored neon pink harness, connected to a bright pink leash with sparkles on it, yet he trotted happily with her.

They both were enjoying the soft breeze that was starting to blow as the sun began to set. Night times on the docks was AMAZING, everything was all lit up and it turned into a giant party, even more so than it was in the day time!

The Doctor trusted her enough to let her on her own for a few minutes on the docks. She wasn't going to go anywhere, not on Space Florida. So he left her with a handful of coins for anything she'd need and took off running to find what he was after. He was being so secretive, but that wasn't that odd.

Amy found herself playing several games including 'beat the borloch' which was sort of like a cross between Skee Ball, Whack-a-mole and tug-o-war.

"Nice try, come next time." the Octopus told her as she collected her few won tickets.

"I will. Come on, Yumo. Let's go find treats, okay? Maybe we'll find some gifts for Luke, Clyde and Rani!" She said smiling at her little blue companion.

Yumo panted in agreement, following her and hoping for treats of a sweeter nature.

They were going to be late, she realized as she checked her watch. Sarah Jane would kill them if they were late to Sunday supper. They'd PROMISED to be there this time; Tish and Rory were going too.

She chucked away the wrappers from sweets and handed Yumo what was left of an ice-lolly which he pounced on with all the eagerness of a starving person.

"We're going to be late." She grumbled to him. Amy waited a moment, swinging her feet on the bench, kicking the air then pulled out her mobile and dialed the Doctor. "Where are you?" she asked worriedly. She didn't want to miss them.

_"Currently I'm hiding in a rubbish bin."_ he replied breathlessly. She could hear rustling paper and him trying not to breathe heavily.

"Why? What've you done?" she asked accusingly.

_"I did nothing...that I regret."_ He finished with amusement in his tone. _"Don't worry though, I've got what I need...Give me thirty minutes and I'll get you, okay? Wait on the Docks near the Giant Jammie Dodgers."_

"Fine." Amy laughed, "See you then." She said before hanging up and staring at the sights.

She sat alone with Yumo for a few minutes, just waiting and resting in the breeze before she decided siting was boring and if she was going to be waiting she might as well wait and play games.

When she finally started the walk towards the booth where they sold the Giant Jammie Dodgers, which if Tish was with them and not on Earth for the weekend she'd forbid him to go near thanks to the great Jammie Dodger incident of 2010.

Amy was just standing near it watching for the Doctor when she felt someone lift her Fedora off of her head.

With an outraged yelp she clasped a hand to her head and turned to face the thief.

The woman was taller than her, especially so since she was wearing bright red six inch heels. She wore dark stockings under a black miniskirt that reached about mid-thigh and a bright red low cut blouse underneath a black leather jacket.

"Know the difference between me and you?" the woman said, a deep Scottish accent clear in her voice as she twirled the fedora and placed it on her head cockily. "I make this look cool." The woman continued smirking at Amy.

Amy's eyes widened as she recognized who the woman was, "Hey! Isn't it against time travel rules to steal from yourself?" she demanded glaring at her older self.

The older Amy smirked and ran her fingers along the brim of the fedora and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "I missed this thing. Besides, it's not stealing if it was mine to begin with." Older Amy said smirking.

"I hate arguing with myself." Little Amy sighed; reaching for the fedora even through it was useless to try since the heels made the older her so much taller. "Give it back." She demanded jumping up to try and grab the hat.

"Nope. It's mine, little me." Older Amy dodged the attempted grab and smiled sweetly at her. "It looks cool on me." The older version of her said holding the hat up higher than little Amy could jump.

"It looks cool on me!" Little Amy protested pouting.

"It looks cooler on me. I make this look damn good!" Older Amy bragged confidently and straightened her jacket.

Little Amy didn't have a chance to respond due to interruptions.

"Amy!" two different voices yelled.

Little Amy turned to see the Doctor searching through the crowd for her and Older Amy turned to see River waving at her.

"Coming!" Older Amy yelled just as Younger Amy yelled "Over here, Dad!"

Little Amy watched, a bit jealous as her older counterpart ran - RAN! - away in heels with HER...their...fedora.

"Dad!" Amy complained as her the Doctor jogged to her side. "I stole my hat!" She pouted.

"Hmm?" he looked around and barely caught sight of two women disappearing along the docks both with red hair and laughed to himself. "I'm sure you had a good reason for it. Maybe because you wanted it back?" he said smiling.

"It's still not fair." Amy said sulkily, tugging lightly on Yumo's leash.

"The life of the hat fan is never easy." the Doctor said solemnly and offered her his hand. "Come on, we'll be late to Sunday Supper." He said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Yes, and Aunt Sarah Jane will be mad." Amy sighed and rolled her eyes but took his hand anyway, walking alongside him back to the TARDIS, Yumo panting as he trotted at their heels. "You don't care about that. You just want to see the baby." Amy said smirking up at the Doctor.

The Doctor looked innocently at the sky and around before shooting her a look, his lips quirking slightly upwards. "That's not true...well, maybe." He said quietly.

She shot him a look that made him smile outright. "I like babies! Well, when they're not all stinky or burping up things." he said , making her smile as she thought of their family on Earth.

Amy laughed and swung their hands as the entered the TARDIS. "Fine then. Let's go find Tish and Rory." She said grinning widely.

"And visit the baby!" the Doctor said eagerly. He bounced to his spot at the console and grinned at her.

Amy giggled and found her spot at the console. Yumo sat happily in his lovely basket that had been created to keep him from sliding on the glass every time they took off or landed. "Geronimo?" Amy questioned.

"Geronimo!" he cried, sending them spinning.

* * *

"Do you have to pick on yourself?" River teased Amy as they walked away off the docks. Looking back over her shoulder she spotted the Doctor and Little Amy walking in the opposite direction with Yumo.

"Yes." Amy nodded seriously. "Because I use to pick on me all the time so it's only fair that I pick on me now that I'm me to do it." Amy said twirling the fedora.

"You're insane, you do know that right?" River offered. Their feet hit actual pavement instead of the wood of the docks and she was able to walk better. Walking in heels was an art, and the wood planks of a dock did not provide the appropriate amount of stability; the only reason she didn't fall was pride and determination.

"Got it from you, mum, got it from you." Amy laughed, linking her arm with River. She got to see her Little Self, steal back her stolen fedora, giggle at how odd Yumo looked and now she had an important 'mission'. Not half bad for a teenage night out. "Now, are we going to go steal precious artifacts or not?"

River laughed as well and squeezed her daughter's arm lightly. "No, we're going to go liberate an item of questionable legality that would look perfect on the wall of my study. There's a difference."


	2. Mickey's story

**[The Long promised story , told in parts, of Mickey between Davros ending right before his marriage. Enjoy!]**

* * *

"You gonna come stay with me then, mouse?" Jack asked Mickey, moving to the side so Mickey could walk with Martha and himself.

Mickey looked him up and down and snorted. "No way in hell I'm staying with Captain Pervert, even if your staff is cute. See ya." he winked at Martha as he jogged off.

He caught up to his target within a minute running full speed. "Sarah Jane!" his voice came out breathless and not as strong as he would have liked it.

"Mickey? Thought you were going back?" Sarah Jane asked, concerned as she slowed her pace to wait for him. She'd called Luke already and he'd said he was fine.

"Nah, there's nothing for me there anymore. Certainly not Rose..." Mickey frowned, making faces and shook his head, "Anyway, I've just realized something..." he said looking at her pleadingly.

"You don't have anything here do you?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Not a damn thing." Mickey said cheerfully, "Flat's gone; cars towed probably, no family or friends. I'm certainly not going to stay with Jack and well, since you're the only other one I know in this universe who won't question my sudden change in appearance..." he trailed off as he looked down at himself.

"You're hoping I'll take you in for a bit?" Sarah Jane said smiling.

"Yeah." Mickey blushed, "Maybe." He said sheepishly.

"Well, we Smiths do have to stick together." Sarah Jane hugged Mickey, "But you're helping out around the house." She said smirking at him.

"I can do that! Get a job, I can cook too! And mow the lawn. I can do manly things." Mickey nodded enthusiastically.

"I think you might have to fight Luke for the Lawnmower, I believe he was taking it apart with a screwdriver and a spanner last I knew..." Sarah Jane said thoughtfully before laughing at Mickey's expression.

* * *

"I feel a bit guilty." Mickey admitted as he put clothing up on the counter to be rung up.

"Don't." Sarah Jane replied easily, helping place more of the items within reach of the clerk. "You don't have anything in this universe and Lord knows Luke's clothing won't fit you." She said sternly.

"Yeah, but I mean…it's not very manly, is it?" Mickey rolled his shoulders awkwardly in his borrowed jacket. Even the few items of clothing he'd borrowed from Alan didn't fit quite right. The man was taller and a bit less bulky than Mickey was. Which was why Mickey was stuck in sweat pants, a t-shirt and gym shoes. Apparently his 'war clothes' weren't fit for everyday wear…plus they were a bit singed still.

"Like… to accept charity." He flushed a bit.

"Well, if it makes you feel better consider it a loan until you can get me back." She offered. "You're going to be working for Jack, given what I've heard about Torchwood you won't be hurting for cash." She insisted.

Mickey nodded, thinking it over. He held his hand out to her, "Deal." He said smiling  
She shook his hand, "Deal." She agreed smiling.

* * *

"So…you're like an alien fighter then? Like for UNIT." Clyde asked Mickey eagerly.

Mickey looked at Clyde over his lunch with a look akin to disgust, "Never." He yelled indignantly.

"Hey!" Sarah Jane protested.

"I mean…No. I worked and will work for Torchwood." Mickey corrected himself. Right, Sarah Jane was a fan of UNIT. He was going to be working for Torchwood during the week and catching rides back to Ealing on the weekends. That meant sleeping on the couch in the hub most likely, but he was fine with that. He had a guest room to sleep in properly on the weekends.

"You carry guns?" Maria questioned.

"Got one. The Doctor stole it, though." Mickey replied, trying to articulate around a mouthful of crisps, "Left everything but what I was wearing behind. Sort of like last time." Alternate Universes made all three teenagers go quiet for a bit the night before as they contemplated it before declaring how awesome that was and peppering him with questions.

Three days back and he had a fan club, it was neat!

"Are you going to get another?" Clyde asked.

"Y—" Mickey paused, catching Sarah Jane's look. "Not while I am under this roof and if I do it'll stay at Torchwood." The sentence had a hint of question to it that made Sarah Jane smile. All it took was one look. Wow, Jackie did have him trained.

"Guns are bad; no touching guns." Luke recited to Mickey. "But you used one on Daleks." He said slightly confused.

"Yeah." Mickey grinned broadly, "Yeah, I did. Guess I am pretty badass. You know I liberated Paris of Cybermen." He bragged.

"Really!" Luke exclaimed.

Mickey sat back in his chair and began the tale he never grew old of. "It all started when the Doctor made me push this stupid button…" he explained.

* * *

- Three weeks later-

* * *

Mickey hadn't been sleeping well, but he was use to insomnia. It was the impulses he couldn't stand. Walking around the shops on Friday night with Luke as they waited for the takeaway to get ready he'd found himself looking at baby things. Before he knew it he had a tiny pair of baby socks decorated with stars and a moon.

When Luke questioned why he had them Mickey had blanked and shoved them into his pocket, muttering excuses.

It hit again not long after and he found himself buying a sketch pad and some pencils Saturday morning because Amy would have liked them. Mickey ended up shoving them into his bag and pretending he'd meant to get them anyway.

Tonight he found himself sitting in the kitchen in his favourite sleep clothes – blue cotton trousers and a white tank top – staring down into a glass filled with whiskey. He hated the taste, loathed it with a passion but it would grant oblivion, and with it sleep.

"Thinking of taking up drinking?" Sarah Jane asked him without much emotion in her tone.

He looked up to see her standing in the doorway in her old pink robe "Thinking of it." He said simply.

"You know that much whiskey will give you one hell of a hangover." She offered, sitting down across from him at the table.

"Might do." He agreed, swirling the liquid in the glass. "It would get rid of problems." He continued.

"It would mask them temporarily, but it wouldn't get rid of them." Sarah Jane said, but she didn't try to take the glass away. "It might make them worse when they come back." She said looking at him.

"Think so?" Mickey looked at her curiously. "Personal experience?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged and smiled slightly, "A mix of personal experience and years of friendship with various people." She said smiling at him.

"Hmm." He said listening.

"Know what does help?" she continued.

"What?" he said

"Talking about it." She said simply looking at him.

"Hmph." He sounded like he didn't believe her.

"Really, it does. It doesn't get rid of everything, but it helps." She insisted.

Mickey thought about it for a few moments as they sat in silence. He was unsure at why he started talking. Maybe it was the fact he needed a friend, maybe it was her voice, all convincing and motherly; sympathetic. Mostly it was that he needed to tell someone, anyone. Whatever the reason it all came pouring out.

"You remember I told you that the Doctor came and took Martha and I?"

"Yes."

"I lied about what happened. I mean, Martha did fix up an alien who was hurt but that wasn't all. There was this…he called himself 'the Dream Lord' and he took us all over. He put us all to sleep and gave us memories. Five years worth of memories. He made Martha and I fall in love, made us married and gave us children." Mickey took a deep breath as Sarah Jane covered his hand with hers in a gesture of comfort. "A little girl named Amy and Martha was pregnant. Then the Doctor showed up again, he crashed in the garden and ruined the flowers."

"He has a habit of doing that." Sarah Jane said making Mickey smile slightly.

"There were these aliens, I don't know their names, but they possessed the children and started killing people. Then we woke up and we were in the TARDIS. We weren't married, she wasn't pregnant and we didn't have a little girl. The Dream Lord, he explained but…" Mickey took a deep breath, "It was so confusing, and you didn't know what was real or not. Were we married with kids, or were we dying in the TARDIS and barely co-workers?

"The TARDIS was being frozen slowly, no heat or anything – we ended up in PONCHOS, really – as we drifted towards a cold star. I know they aren't real but…then we'd pass out and wake up in a suburb of London being chased by alien children intent on killing us all.

"We barricaded ourselves in the nursery – Martha, Amy and I – and the Doctor joined us later, climbing in through the window with a ladder. I have no idea where he got the ladder from or how he got it past the aliens. Then… One got up to the window, it shot Amy." Mickey took a shuddering breath and wiped at his eyes with his left hand, his right being held by Sarah Jane. "She…my baby girl dissolved right in front of me and there was nothing I could do."

"Oh, Mickey…"

"Martha got hit too, just side splatter. But she was in labour. Suddenly I heard the song that put us to sleep and I was in the dark. It was cold, dark and I couldn't orientate myself…he tormented me, taunting about how no one needs me, I'm useless and how everyone always abandons me…"

"That's not true, plenty of people need you." Sarah Jane told him.

"When…when I got back to the dream world sh-she was dead. Martha was dead on the floor…God there was so much blood. The Doctor was huddled up against the crib. He tried to keep me from going to see but I made it past him. The baby…Robert…he didn't make it either." He didn't even bother wiping his eyes this time, letting tears fall. "I decided then it was the dream and if I died we'd wake up in reality so…we killed ourselves. The Doctor and I. We wrecked our van, committing suicide in the process. We woke up in the freezing TARDIS, covered in frost then…He realized something; the Dream Lord only controls dreams so…"

"He was offering a choice between two false realities." Sarah Jane said.

Mickey looked at her curiously.

"I've been at this a while." She offered.

"Yeah, he blew up the TARDIS and…we were back. Martha's pretending nothing happened but…" Mickey reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out the tiny pair of socks he'd bought. "I keep…I keep wanting to get things. I bought an art set earlier for Amy then I realized she's gone…never existed even but…" Mickey gave in to what he considered a VERY unmanly instinct: he started crying in earnest.

Sarah Jane stood up from her spot and hugged him close, letting him cry for a while; something else that helped rid people of their problems.

* * *

Two weeks later (Early April)

* * *

Mickey growled in annoyance. The doorbell was ringing; couldn't people take a hint no one was home? Who would be stopping by anyway? Maria and Alan had moved! He shut off the shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist.

Sarah Jane hadn't needed much, so she and Luke had just walked to the shops, leaving the car behind since it was such a nice day. Just because the car was there didn't mean anyone was home.

He barely managed to cut out the scowl as he opened the door. "Can I help you?"

The woman on the other side's eyes went wide as she took in his appearance. He was soaking wet, he still had suds on some places and it occurred after the fact that some new injuries and old scars could look alarming.

"I er, I was looking for Sarah."

"Jane." Mickey added without thinking. "She's gone to the shops for some things. She'll be back in a bit. Who're you?"

"I'm Gita, Gita Chandra." She offered her hand.

Mickey changed his grip on the towel and shook her hand. "Mickey Smith. Now, if you'll excuse me I was in the middle of something."

"Oh, right." Gita nodded and walked off, blushing.

* * *

"Someone stopped by." Mickey told Sarah Jane as she helped him dress various injuries.

"Oh? Who?" She paused looking at an oddly shaped and located cut on his back. "What happened there?"

"Jack threw a burnt piece of glass at me for mocking him." Mickey winced at the medical paste she put on it. "He felt bad; he thought I'd duck. And it was Gita Chandra. Forgot you had new neighbours."

"What did she want?"

"I don't know. She was very quiet."

"That doesn't seem like Gita." Sarah Jane laughed and taped a bandage in place.

"Well, I was naked bar one of your towels at the time."

"What!" Sarah Jane nearly dropped the roll of medical tape.

"She caught me in the shower and the doorbell wouldn't stop ringing." Mickey whined.

"Did you say who you were?"

"Mickey Smith. Oh, and that I was in the middle of something."

Sarah Jane groaned. "Hands."

He held out his hands obediently for inspection.

She wiped the few nicks with an alcohol wipe making him hiss then covered the one bad cut with a plaster. Neither mentioned how much more efficiently Martha could do this for him and how quickly it would heal. Then again she'd also given up lecturing him about wearing gloves when he worked on tech that was unknown.

"They've moved into Maria's old house." Sarah Jane said. "Her daughter Rani is Luke's friend now. She found out about aliens via an alien clown."

Mickey's eyes widened, "You mean I missed a killer clown from outer space!"

Sarah Jane laughed, "Stay away from the B horror movies. Especially American ones!"

"They're good! What's next, ninja cheerleaders? I love Ealing." He proclaimed.

"Hmph. Go get dressed, NICELY, and let Luke introduce you to Rani and her parents. I refuse to have more gossip floating around." She warned him.

Mickey rolled his eyes and stood up. "Aye, Aye, Lieutenant."

"Save that for Gwen!" She protested as he hugged her. "And go get dressed!"

"Fine...Commander?"

"GO!" Sarah Jane commanded as she laughed.

Mickey dressed himself up nicely, not quite 'to impress' but pass 'inspection'. His white trainers were shiny, no dirt or mud on them. His black jeans fit nicely, held up by a belt with NO curse words on it (He debated heavily between 'batman symbol' or the 'since you're already this close' one but she said nicely). His muscle shirt, while black, had no weird marks at all on it. As an afterthought he grabbed a short sleeved overshirt (red with pockets, score!) and slipped it on without buttoning it. He made it halfway down the stairs before he leapt the railing landing with a thud on the floor.

"MICKEY!"

He grinned at the yell and took off running outside. He was halfway into the street before he remembered to look both ways. He barely avoided a car that stopped with a screech. He planted both hands on the hood and jumped last second as the car skidded to a halt so he ended up crouched on the hood.

"Mickey!" Luke yelled running his direction.

Mickey laughed and jumped down, "That, Lukey Boy, is how you avoid a painful death." He caught Luke in a hug and ruffled his hair. "Why do you look so scared, Clyde?"

"That's the new Head teacher's car. Our new neighbour." Clyde told him.

Mickey's grin dropped, "Oops?"

He turned around, and held his hands out palms up to Haresh, "Sorry Mate. No harm done?"

"You idiot, you could have been killed!" Haresh yelled, "Fine example to set for the kids."

"Hey, nothing happened." Mickey said quickly. "If you've got any dents I'll fix 'em out. No harm, no foul."

"No harm no foul?" Haresh repeated angrily. "I-"

"Hello again!" Gita said cheerfully running out of the house with Rani to see why her husband was yelling. "Nice to see you with some clothes on."

"What?" Luke and Clyde yelped.

"Long story." Mickey whispered to them then spoke louder. "Luke, you going to introduce me to the new neighbours?"

Luke looked puzzled but took up his role anyway. "Mickey, this is my friend Rani; this is Gita Chandra her husband Haresh. He's our new Headteacher."

Mickey took Gita's hand and kissed the back of it, "Pleasure."

"Oh my." She flushed; Rani and both boys looked a mixture of horrified, amused and disgusted.

"Sorry, Haresh, if there's any damage I'll fix it. I'm just across the street." Mickey told him cheerfully while mentally calculating how many cans of shaving cream it would take to cover the car.

"How long are you back for?" Luke asked him eagerly.

"Oh, three days I think. Have to head back up on Tuesday. Got an extra day by telling Jack he looked dead sexy in his new shirt. I don't think he caught the insult." Mickey mused.

"You live with Sarah?"

"Jane." Mickey repeated with Luke and Clyde. "Just for the time being. She's helping me get back on my feet and get a flat closer to work. LONG story, but Sarah Jane saved my life several times. Wouldn't be here without her."

* * *

"Taking in all those variables what is the perimeter." Rani read out loud.

The three teens were doing their homework out in the sun while Haresh worked on the lawn. Mickey was pulling tricks in the street on his skateboard (wearing a helmet - though unbuckled - at Sarah Jane's protest.)

"I'm not sure..." Clyde frowned. Luke was forbidden from helping them with theirs...well, when Haresh could see or hear. "Mickey!"

Mickey flipped the board and looked up, "What?"

"Help me?"

Mickey picked up the board and walked over and took the book from Rani. He mumbled to himself as he read it, well tried to read it. It took a few tries. He stared at the book as the words righted themselves and tried to figure it out..."Hell, I dunno." he handed her the book back. "If I had wanted to know that stuff I'd have gone to school."

"You didn't go to school?" Rani asked.

"Nope. Dropped out the day I turned 16 and got a job with a local mechanic." Mickey dropped the board on the sidewalk and stood on it, tilting it back and forth under his feet. "Didn't see the point in continuing my education at an institution."

"How do you ever expect to find a job if you drop out?" Haresh said. "See, kids, this is why you stay in school."

"I have a job." Mickey protested. "In Cardiff. I just haven't got up enough money to get my own place yet."

Haresh made a noise of disbelief.

"Really! I'm nearly there though. See, I owe Sarah Jane £1280; I had £640 in debt to clear up, £120 went to my bike and my board was £60." Mickey tried to keep track, "Hell...um...I think I spent £100 on video games...I pitch in on groceries now then some to savings. I spent £1,800 on my laptop." He paused." Luke, where's I at?"

"£3938.73." Luke told him.

"Right," Mickey grinned, "Which was taken out of £5000 with the rest going shopping or savings. Give it another month and I should be able to get a flat." He flipped his board as Haresh scowled at him. "And a puppy. Can't wait to get a dog again." He froze his face falling then Mickey shook his head as if to clear away a bad memory. "Anyway...Yeah, no schooling. You wanna know perimeter just...hell, look at the blueprints or as Luke!"

* * *

"Don't you have to give Mickey a ride to Cardiff?" Gita asked Luke. The three teens were mucking around outside where it was sunny.

"No, he's got someone coming to pick him up." Luke ducked the hacky-sack Clyde threw at him.

"Oh, which one?" Clyde asked eagerly, all of the Torchwood group he'd met were really cool.

"Jack." Luke grinned, "He said something about staying a little while and gifts."

"Love Jack gifts."

"Who's Jack?" Rani asked.

"He's Mickey's boss. Captain Jack Harkness, retired military." Clyde bragged in proxy. "Kick-arse, has a really cool coat and he chases down bad guys to fix things."

"He's amazing and always flirts." Luke told Rani. "If he flirts ignore him."

"All three of you." Clyde shook his head, "Man's a menace to good decent society. But he's pretty cool."

* * *

Jack sped through the streets enjoying the sounds of the engine. The SUV was fixed up with the best earth and alien parts he could get.

He could max out at around 305 km/h if he wanted. But he was on residential streets so he stuck to 120 km/h. Jack had the back of the car fitted with straps to hold down the cargo.

He'd brought Martha back and figured he'd just pick up Mickey. To make it more 'official' he'd brought some tech for Sarah Jane and some weird alien creature in a cage that tried to bite him. He was hoping Mr Smith could identify it.

He realized a few seconds too late he missed the turn and hit the brakes as he spun the wheel, coming to a dead stop against the curb outside her house. He'd meant to hit the driveway.

Jack looked out the window and saw her boys, a new girl and two amazed looking adults. "Fun, new neighbours." Jack said to himself. He dug into his glove department and produced a bottle of English Leather Cologne. He held it away from him slightly and sprayed it across his chest then turned it to spray his wrist. He quickly rubbed his wrists together and rubbed them on his neck to cover all his pulse points.

He wanted to smell nice, not alluring. It would be bad to overpower new neighbours with his natural pheromones, Sarah Jane would probably disapprove.

"Hey, Lukey-Boy! Where's tall dark and ugly?" Jack yelled, hopping out of the car and locking it behind him.

"Mickey's inside. Mum is too." Luke hugged the Captain and even let him mess up his hair.

"Ah. Got some stuff in the SUV. C'mon." Jack nodded to the back. "Need some help hauling it all out."

"No problem." Clyde greeted Jack, "How's work?"

"Fantastic, as always." Jack grinned and nodded at the Chandra's, "New neighbours?"

"Yes. Mr. and Mrs Chandra and my friend Rani." Luke told him. "Not too new, Mickey knows them."

"Mickey can bite me." Jack told him then offered his hand to Haresh, "Captain Jack Harkness."

"Haresh Chandra."

"Nice to meet you, Haresh." Jack offered his hand to Gita, "And you?"

"Gita Chandra." Gita blushed as Jack shook her hand and smiled.

"Jack Harkness, are you harassing my neighbours?" Sarah Jane called coming down the walk to where they were.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Jack protested. He turned to her and smiled, extending his arms. "Sarah Jane, aren't you looking well."

She hugged him, "Flattery gets you nowhere. I saw that park job."

"Ooops?" Jack tried to look sheepish, but didn't manage it. "Got some stuff for you."

He opened the car and two boxes sat in the bag alongside a bag. He pulled the bag out and tossed it to Luke. "Sweets. Confiscated them. Not for everyday consumption so...eat up." Jack grinned.

"Jack?" Sarah Jane asked quietly.

"Don't worry, they're from Saurtine. Nearly 100% sugar but nothing bad. Promise."

"Better not be."

Haresh's eyes went wide when they saw Mickey leave Sarah Jane's house. Far from the baggy trousers and colourful shirts with loose shoes they'd seen him in every time before he was dressed...well, military.

He wore black trousers that fit with several pockets, a gold shirt with a leather harness on over it. The harness held a holstered gun on one side. His belt was shining silver with handcuffs attached to one side and some sort of spray on the other. His shoes were combat boots that shone enough to reflect the sun.

"Ne me faites pas aller avec l'imbécile, s'il-vous-plaît. Je vous en supplie." Mickeys voice was pleading as he hefted his large duffle into the back of the SUV.

"«Tu vas t'en tirer. Jack peut bien se comporter pendant quelques heures." Sarah Jane replied stumping all of them. Haresh hadn't known she could speak another language or that Mickey the dropout could.

"Hey, you two cut that out." Jack scolded them as he bounced around on the street like a child.

"Non, Jack ne peut pas." Mickey deadpanned.

"Oi, I can speak that too!" Jack whined. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?" He punctuated the singsong words with hip swiveling and a smirk.

"Behave." Sarah Jane switched to English.

"Aye, Aye, Ma'am." Jack saluted her.

Mickey sighed and pulled on his leather jacket. "Bye guys."

"Where did you learn French?" Haresh asked bluntly, obviously amazed.

"Huh? Oh, lived in France for about a year. See you next time, Luke." He hugged the boy then hugged Sarah Jane, "If I don't die or commit murder."

"You'll be fine." Sarah Jane laughed.

* * *

-Early May-

* * *

Mickey yawned and stretched out on the couch, puppy curled up on his chest. New flat...This was neat. Two whole bedrooms! He actually had a nice little kitchen - not that he'd ever admit he could cook. Currently the only furnishings really were his bed, his new puppy's pen and toy box, his BMX bike that sat near the door, his TV, game consoles and a really comfy couch.

"Not bad for an Estate kid who didn't even complete Sixth Form. Hell, who cut and ran at Year 12." Mickey laughed and the puppy snuggled into his hoodie in protest at the movement. "Now I'm making five thousand a month...Got my own flat and a very snuggly puppy. I might have to go back just to mock my teachers."

The puppy made a snuffling noise and curled deeper into his hoodie, tiny paws digging at his chest. She was just barely old enough to be away from her mother.

Mickey shifted his hoodie to let the puppy inside.

"You need a name, little one." He said, lightly stroking its ears as it relaxed to sleep again.

His mind automatically proclaimed "Yumo" but he winced and shook his head. Different dog. She was a Siberian Husky and was bound to be large, so it couldn't be something extremely girly. But it couldn't be something vicious or mean sounding because she was going to be big.

He thought over it for a while, just petting the cream coloured pup and sitting quietly.

After a while a grin crossed his face and he tilted his head to look at the snoozing dog.

"I think I'm going to have to call you 'Amidala'.

The puppy snuffled in its sleep and rubbed it's nose with its which Mickey took as a sign of agreement.

* * *

"Amidala, Come." Mickey said sternly. Back to work time, he'd had a week to bond with the puppy all alone, but now was the start of real training. She had to learn he was Pack Leader everywhere, not just at home. She was walking next to him on a long leash hooked to a red harness.

The puppy let out a snort that sounded a bit like a sigh but trotted closer to sit on his feet.

"You got a wolf?" Martha asked looking at the fluffy beast.

"No, she's a Siberian husky!" Mickey protested.

"She's huge!" Gwen proclaimed.

"She'll get bigger." Mickey looked down as the puppy gnawed on his laces and nudged it with his foot. "No chewing."

Amidala whined at him.

"Stand at attention." Mickey commanded and the puppy sat upright instead of leaning against him. "Good girl." He handed her a treat from his pocket.

She looked at him pleadingly and then around the room obviously wanting to explore. It was a new place and not like she'd get into much...

"Amidala..."

The puppy looked up hopeful, ears alert.

He leaned down and undid the leash. "Stand down."

The puppy took off like a lunatic smelling everything and bouncing around.

"Weirdest dog ever." Gwen said as it licked Ianto's shoe and pranced around.

"Nah, she's smarter and more energetic than Yu...She's a good dog." Mickey said. "Really have to stay on top of her training though, her breed is known for stubbornness, intelligence and being sneaky." He watched as she tried to chew on Ianto's shoe. "Amidala, no!"

The puppy hopped back and looked at him, making a whining noise.

"No." he repeated sternly.

She shook her head, making noises and dashed off again, following all the weird new scents.

* * *

Amidala scooted forward on the ground in a crouched position looking like a soldier or a cat as she crawled forward. Belly close to the ground inching along; tail wagging giving away her position. Gwen watched her progress as she inched closer and closer till...

Amidala leapt last minute and landed on Martha's shoe making happy noises and rubbing on them, rolling onto her back and shuffling on the floor in an obvious bid for attention.

Martha looked down in shock. "What are you doing?"

Amidala whined wanting a scratch.

She sighed and rubbed the dogs belly gaining grateful noises in response.

"Gwen's right, you are weird."

The puppy just nibbled at the air and licked Martha.

"Where's your master, huh?" Martha asked her. "Where's Mickey?"

Amidala looked at her, head tilted.

"Where's daddy?" Gwen asked the dog excitedly.

Amidala's tail twitched.

"Go find him."

The puppy took off running, nails clicking against the tile.

Martha looked at Gwen, "How'd you do that?"

"Years as a child confusing the family dog." Gwen replied.

* * *

- Early June-

* * *

Mickey was a bit worried about leaving Amidala with three hyper teenagers. She was only ten weeks old! Who knew what junk the teenagers would feed her.

"Stop fretting about your puppy." Sarah Jane scolded him lightly.

"If you stop fretting about Luke." Mickey replied.

He got an exasperated look in return. "I'm allowed to worry, I'm a mum."

"Yeah, and I'm a –"Mickey froze and changed course. "A first time dog owner."

Sarah Jane didn't remark on his mistake and they settled in to basic catching up conversation for lunch.

It wasn't often he came back to Ealing, since he started working up there. It wasn't too long a journey, but he liked hanging around in his flat with Amidala anymore. Today however was special; they were celebrating his birthday. It was about a week late, but it was still the thought that counted.

Sarah Jane had the teenagers working frantically while she took Mickey out setting up the house for a small 'family' party. Clyde had kidnapped the kitchen and run up her bankcard with baking supplies. But it was worth it.

Jack had called and told her that they'd been discussing birthdays and when Mickey's turn came to tell his favourite childhood birthday memory all he'd been able to come up with was that the year he turned ten Jackie had made him cupcakes and his Gran had given him £2 for a treat at the store.

She just really hoped Rani kept the boys away from the helium.

"And out of nowhere this big kid just comes flying at us." Mickey laughed, gesturing with his hands as they talked over their meal.

"What'd you do?"

"Well there wasn't much I could do!" Mickey told her, giant grin never leaving. "I mean, I was being the 'guard' and keeping care of the little ones. So I stand up and basically scream 'you can't hurt us!'"

"And?" Sarah Jane prompted.

"And it turns out he could indeed hurt me, BUT in the time I was distracting him Rose and Gina'd gone and found their mums."

"By distracting you mean 'getting beat up by', don't you?" She tried not to laugh but the faces he was making prompted more laughter.

"Yeah, just a bit." Mickey admitted. "Still one of my favourite birthdays. I mean, I hung out at Jackie's for a while afterwards, settling down and she let me eat an entire jar of frosting with a spoon. That's near heaven for a ten year old."

Sarah Jane shook her head, "Well, I hope this ranks up in the top ten."

Mickey scoffed, "I have a top five. I've not exactly done a lot of parties. Well, Jackie's responsible for four out of five, but this is one." He grinned brightly.

Suddenly his grin started to fade as he stared over Sarah Jane's shoulder.

She turned to look and winced.

Martha and _'That Man' _as Mickey called him had at some point been seated just a little ways from them across the restaurant.

"Mickey…"Sarah Jane said softly, reaching across the table to place her hand on his. His own hand was clenched tightly, nails biting into the skin.

"I'm fine." He said, through gritted teeth. He closed his eyes took a deep breath and smiled at her again. "Now, how about your last birthday?"

He tried to keep the conversation going, but his eyes kept straying over and his rage was building.

He couldn't help it, it was there.

_That Man_ was holding Martha's hand, messing with her engagement ring. Both were smiling so brightly.

Mickey tried to focus again, no, he was talking he wasn't-

_That Man_ leaned over the table and kissed Martha.

Mickey surged out of his seat and was across the restaurant in seconds. He grabbed the other man up by his shirt. "THAT'S MY WIFE!" Mickey roared, his fist impacting _That Man_'s face.

"Mickey!" he heard two females yelling at him.

"TOM!"

He felt someone grab his arm and allowed himself to be pulled backwards after sinking one more well placed punch.

"She's not." Sarah Jane said softly, pulling him away from Tom. She stopped him from going forward when Martha went to Tom's side, clearly torn at who she should be comforting. "She's not." Sarah Jane repeated, one hand on his chest, pushing him backwards slightly.

"I…" Mickey took a deep breath, "I'll be in the car."

* * *

"**SURPRISE!"  
**

Mickey jumped, startled by the sudden noise as he looked around Sarah Jane's kitchen.

Her teens were standing around, all with party hats. There was a banner, and balloons! His eyes went wide; there were shiny wrapped presents on the table and a giant cake on the counter.

"Whoa." He said.

"So, what do you think; top four?" Sarah Jane asked him later as he sat on the couch, ice on his right hand trying to eat cake with his left hand. "Considering everything."

"This is definitely top three." Mickey said with a grin.

There was a knock at the door and Sarah Jane excused herself to see who it was.

Amidala sat happily at his feet, trying desperately to get the frosting off the tip of her nose. The boys were trying to see how much ice cream they could fit into their mouths at one time while Rani egged them on, enjoying what she knew would turn out really badly.

"Mickey, you've got a visitor." Sarah Jane said, walking back into the room.

"Who?" He looked perplexed.

"Martha, actually." She said quietly. "She's just outside."

Mickey jolted and quickly stood up, "Um, I'll be back, make sure they don't feed Amidala any more sugar?"

"I'm right in here if you need me." She told him, squeezing his hand lightly.

He nodded and calmed himself, walking to the door. "Hey."

"Hey." Martha replied lightly, obviously nervous. "I was just wondering if we could talk a bit, maybe?"

He looked back inside, quickly and shut the door. "Yeah, let's…just out here." There was a yelp from inside the house and he grinned brightly. "Um, her kids are having an ice cream eating contest." He explained at Martha's confused glance. He led her around to the side garden where the bench was. "So, what's up?" he asked.

"I just…I wanted to apologize for earlier." Martha told him. "I didn't know you'd be there and I shouldn't have…I mean, you shouldn't have hit him."

Mickey scoffed, leaning back against the fence. "He shouldn't have been near you."

"He's my fiancée!" Martha protested. "That's sort of a right."

"Thought this was an apology, not a knife in the wound." Mickey said sarcastically.

"It is. I'm just doing a horrid job at it." Martha sat down on the bench with a sigh. "Though I'm not exactly sure why I'm apologizing. Usually I'd do it with a video game and wine…I mean – ."

"I know what you mean." Mickey said softly. "I mix things up too. What'd _he _have to say about me?"

"He was…a bit confused and more than a little concerned. Sarah Jane convinced him not to press charges though." Martha told him. "It wasn't…" She bit her lip in consideration. "You don't have to be jealous anymore. I broke up with him."

"Christ." Mickey rubbed his face with his hands, slouching. "I didn't mean to break you up."

"You did." Martha disagreed. "But if I hadn't wanted to…I mean, I spend most the time I'm with him feeling guilty as hell and like I'm cheating." She complained. "I don't…You can't exactly erase five years in three months, can you?"

"No. Not easily." Mickey agreed. "So…what are we?" he asked into the silence moments later.

"We're…complicated." Martha said finally. "I really don't know."

"Hard to classify." Mickey stuffed his hands into his pockets. "But you two you're…?"

"Through." Martha declared, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "I better get going." She said, "I've got to get up in the morning and help mum out."

"Yeah, I've got a party to get back to." Mickey said, moving from the garden to open the gate. He waited to let her threw then followed.

"Goodnight, Martha." He said, standing in the drive near her car.

"Happy birthday." She paused then leaned on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Night, Mickey."

He stood outside till Martha had driven off then went back inside.

Mickey flopped down on the couch next to Sarah Jane. "Number one."

"Number one? Really?" Sarah Jane asked, moving the wiggling puppy from her lap to his.

"Definitely." He grinned brightly.

* * *

-Late June-

* * *

"Damn it." Mickey cursed, wincing and nearly curling into a ball. He'd been chasing a weevil and moved wrong, diving out of the way and slamming his stomach into the ground.

He heard Jack and Gwen speed ahead and then heard a shot ring in the night.

Not long after Gwen reappeared by his side. "You hurt yourself or knock the wind out—" she stopped when she saw the blood appearing on his grey t-shirt. "Jesus Christ." Gwen exclaimed.

"I'm good." Mickey said through gritted teeth. "It's an old wound. Got it last weekend. Just an accident when I was chasing down a bounty." He still took the odd bounty jobs, both human and alien, for the extra cash. He took the weird cases no one else wanted or for those who didn't want government involvement.

Gwen ignored him, shoving him to lay down with a hand on his chest and tugging his shirt up. "Mickey, what the hell?" She nearly yelled when she pulled back the makeshift bandage he'd taped on that was coated in blood now. The wound was a good three inches long and deep. It was discoloured and obviously infected. It was just under his ribs on his left side, on his abdomen. "Did you even treat this? Does Martha know?"

"No. Ow, fuck! Watch the hands." He yelled as she touched a sensitive area.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, jogging up. "You break a rib, mouse?" He shut up quickly upon seeing Mickey's abdomen. "I'm calling Martha."

Mickey groaned, laying back and letting his head drop onto the pavement.

* * *

Martha made it to Cardiff within two hours, having sped the entire way, much to Mickey's chagrin.

"Does this hurt?" Martha asked, probing the wound with her gloved hands.

"YES!" He yelled, cursing.

"Good!" She growled. "What the hell is wrong with you?" each word was punctuated by a smack to his upper arm. "Did you even treat this?"

"Yes! I fixed it myself."

"How? With glue?"

He was quiet which confirmed it.

"Oh my God. You seriously glued this?" She exclaimed.

"I cleaned it, used some antibiotic gel and super glued it shut." Mickey winced as she prodded the wound again, biting back an expletive.

"YOU WHAT!"

"That is it." Martha yelled, storming into the main room where Gwen, Jack and Ianto quickly pretended to be busy and as if they hadn't been trying to listen in. "I am the medic here. I don't care if I'm in London or NEW YORK, I am the medic and you WILL call me. I don't care how bad it is. If you need so much as a fucking PLASTER for a scrapped knee I will be informed!"

Jack hid his grin and saluted her. "Yes, Ma'am."

Gwen nodded, "Will do. I didn't know he was hurt, I swear."

Martha growled and turned around to leave back to the medical room again.

"Did she just curse at us?" Ianto demanded in outrage.

"Lay off her, Ianto." Jack said quietly, "It's Mickey that's hurt."

Ianto closed his mouth and nodded curtly.

* * *

"Careful." Martha said as she helped Mickey to his door. Amidala was tugging on her leash, trying to test Martha's limits and get to the flat faster.

"I'm very careful." Mickey said, quite aware of the stitches on his abdomen.

Martha scoffed. "If you were careful this wouldn't have happened." She opened the door to his flat with his keys and helped him inside.

He collapsed gratefully onto the couch as she let Amidala loose. The pup took off immediately into his room where he heard a thump and a squeak. She'd gone to find her toys…

"Thanks for the ride, you can-"

"I'm not going anywhere." Martha interrupted him. "I've taken a few vacation days – they rarely deny me much of anything – and I'm staying here till that's cleared up."

Mickey frowned, "You don't have to do that."

"Obviously I do. I mean, who gets the bright idea to just glue a wound shut?"

"Sarah Jane does it." Mickey muttered sulkily.

"She does what?" Martha demanded in outrage.

Mickey winced, oops…now Sarah Jane was going to kill him.

* * *

His phone ringing woke him up. Well, less 'ringing' and more 'singing'. He'd long since personalized ringtones to fit the person calling and there was only one person whose call triggered the song 'Sarah'.

"Hi." He said groggily into the phone. One side effect of getting a wound scrubbed out and stitched up was good pain pills.

_"Why do you find it fun to drag me into trouble?" _

"I didn't mean to. But you do fix wounds like me."

_"With a giant exception: you used human supplies. I don't. With as many visitors as I get and as many friends as I have I rarely end up with human supplies."_

"What do you mean?" he asked, groaning a bit as he adjusted and sat up on the couch.

_"The Doctor may steal my shopping, but for some reason he always stocks my med kit. You used superglue and antibiotics, I use dermal glue and I have a few different antibiotic gels that are a bit more advanced." _She sounded exasperated and amused. _"Hadn't you noticed I don't scar?"  
_

"I never paid that much attention." Mickey admitted. "So this was an idiot move?"

_"Well, you got an infection, I got a lecture by yet another medical doctor, you ended up getting worse medical treatment then you'd have gotten to begin with…but on the other hand you've got Martha living with you for about a week tending to your every need."  
_

Mickey's eyes went wide as he realized the implications. "Are you suggesting I use this for nefarious means?"

Sarah Jane laughed, _"I'm saying convince her she loves you as much as you still love her. What you take from that is solely your idea."  
_

"But you're in favour."

_"Go get your girl, you twit."  
_

Mickey smiled. "Thanks. Bye."

_"Bye."  
_

"Who was that?" Martha asked curiously, entering from the kitchen with a tray covered in dishes.

"Sarah Jane. She was just checking up on me." Mickey told her. He flipped the phone shut and sat it back onto the coffee table. "And asking why I get her in trouble."

Martha didn't look bothered in the least. "I'm a medic. It's my job to take care of people."

"She doesn't work for Torchwood." Mickey pointed out.

Martha placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down next to it. "I'd work pro-bono for her if needed."

"You've barely met her." Mickey told Martha. He looked over at the tray and lit up as he tried to sit up fully. "You cooked?"

"Soup." Martha agreed, moving the tray to his lap now that he was mostly upright, the legs sitting on either side of his legs. "And I've met her more than once."

"Yeah, pick up's, drop offs and when the Dalek's attacked." Mickey picked up a spoon and nearly did a happy dance. He always loved when Martha made soup. She only did it when he was-no, that wasn't real. It hadn't happened. He tried a spoonful of chicken and noodles anyway and sighed blissfully. Dream or not, it tasted the same. He wasn't sure where she got the ingredients for it from; maybe he'd slept longer than he thought.

"During the year that wasn't." Martha said seriously. She clasped her hands together on her lap. "She saved my life and helped save the world. I owe her."

Mickey looked at her in surprise. "You've never told me this."

"Perfect life." She shrugged. "I never had to think about it."

"I'm sorry." Mickey said genuinely.

"Don't be." Martha told him. "It's over. I still…I feel like I owe her a debt, but if I told her she'd just give me that smile and tell me that it's fine, and not to worry."

"Yeah, she's good at that." Mickey nodded, "Sorta makes you feel five again."

Martha laughed. "Eat your soup. I'm going to go clean up my cooking mess." She looked down at Amidala who had wiggled her way onto the couch and onto Mickey's feet. "Don't give her any. You need it."

Mickey made happy noises around a spoonful. "No way. It's all mine. I don't have to share. Isn't that a rule?"

Martha laughed at him, even as she left.

Mickey watched her leave thoughtfully. Make her love him again…hmm. Maybe Sarah Jane had a point.

Amidala let out a tiny whine, a low one and wriggled on his feet.

"Mine." Mickey said sternly, taking another big bite.

* * *

Mickey winced slightly as he got out of the shower. It'd been four days and his wound looked a lot better than it had the first day. Martha growled less when she checked him and changed the bandage but he still had a wound. It was going to make for a neat little scar. He had to come up with a normal story though; no one would believe he got stabbed by an alien.

He carefully dried off and tugged on a pair of boxers and sleep pants. He opened the door and was greeted by a whining puppy.

"Oh, Amidala, did you miss me?" He asked as she wound around his legs eagerly.

"She didn't stop whining." Martha told him. "Did you, 'Dala?"

Amidala whined in agreement, rubbing her head on Mickey's legs. Martha and Amidala had grown quite attached to one another in the last few days, but the dog's loyalties were still firmly fixed with Mickey.

"Lock down, babygirl." Mickey informed the puppy.

Amidala scrambled down the small hallway into his room.

"Give me a moment and I'll fix your bandage before bed." Martha told him. She'd been sleeping on the couch the past few days. She'd been getting closer to Mickey, however so he figured that was one goal he might be able to achieve in the long run.

"Fine." Mickey nodded. "I'm going to get Amidala settled."

He followed the path the puppy had taken and found her settled inside her large pen.

The pen was sized to hold a dog much bigger than Amidala would ever get and closed off a corner of the room but within reach of Mickey's bed. It had a large red dogs' bed inside it covered with a bright pink blanket and a small bowl of water. Amidala sat in the centre of the bed and looked at him expectantly.

"Nighty, night, Amidala." He told her, kneeling down to scratch her ears and shut the gate to the pen.

The puppy yawned widely and buried her face in the blanket happily.

Mickey groaned as he got back to his feet. Okay, that sill hurt.

He carefully lay down on his own bed, shoving the covers back.

Martha entered a few minutes later, carrying the medical kit she'd brought.

"Looks much better." She told him, sitting next to him on the bed.

"Feels better." He admitted.

"I can take the stitches out in a few more days." Martha said, gently applying the topical antibiotic. "Less if you plead and Jack lets me use more advanced technology on you."

Mickey laughed quietly. "Me pleading to Jack Harkness? Not bloody likely."

She carefully placed a white still bandage over top the wound and taped it in place with medical tape. "Stranger things have happened."

"Yeah." He watched as she put everything away and lightly traced her fingers around the edges of the bandage to make sure all the tape stayed in place. He covered her hand with his. "Stranger things have happened." He leaned up and pulled her down into a kiss.

* * *

Mickey paced back and forth in his flat anxiously. Amidala followed his every step carefully, watching to see where he was going in a bizarre game of 'follow the leader'.

Okay, so maybe 'make her love you' had gone a bit too far last night but it wasn't like they'd never—wait, dream. He winced and rubbed a hand over his bandage. He was relatively certain he'd busted a stitch or two last night. Not that he regretted that.

When he woke up Martha was gone. Not just from his room, but from the flat as well. Her coat was missing, but her stuff was still here.

She wasn't answering his calls.

He stopped suddenly making Amidala run into the back of his legs. Mickey jogged through the house and grabbed his mobile from the kitchen counter where he'd chucked it in exasperation.

Only one person he could call for advice on this, no matter how awkward it might be overall. He was NOT calling Jack and Gwen well…odd.

_"Hi, Mickey." _Sarah Jane answered almost immediately. _"How're you feeling?"  
_

"Pretty sure I popped a few stitches." Mickey said.

_"Well get Martha to fix them. Isn't that what she's there for?"  
_

"She helped me bust them."

_"…" _the line was silent for a moment_. "Mickey, what've you done?"  
_

"I slept with Martha." He blurted out.

She was silent again for a few moments but he could hear her moving away from wherever it was she had been, as the other voices got quiet. _"Well, this could be very good or very bad."  
_

"She wasn't here when I woke up." Mickey practically whimpered.

_"That adds to the bad side…Maybe she's gone to work?"  
_

"Jack's not letting her work while I'm hurt." Mickey groaned and sat down on the couch, sinking back into it.

_"She's probably just gone to talk to him then, I bet. He's her friend too."  
_

Mickey let his head fall back onto the back of the couch. "So what do I do?"

_"Did she take her things?"  
_

"No."_  
_

_"Then wait there. She'll be back."_

* * *

Mickey awoke with a jerk, snore cut short as he tried to sit upright. Amidala was dislodged from his lap and growled in displeasure, crouched on the floor, poised to attack whatever had startled him.

"Sorry." Martha said quietly. She shut the door that had hit the doorstop softly and slid the lock into place.

"'s alright." Mickey winced, covering his side with his hand as he sat upright, swinging his legs off the couch and onto the floor. "Where've you been?"

"I, er, I went to talk with Jack." Martha admitted honestly. "I think we need to talk."

It took two hours, but by time their 'talk' was done Mickey had himself a girlfriend.

* * *

-July-

* * *

"Martha's nearly here." Ianto told Jack, hanging up the phone. "She's brought some supplies and would like some help getting them to the morgue."

Mickey sat up straight in his chair, legs hitting the floor after falling from the desk they'd been resting on. "Yes!"

"Hey, hold it!" Jack ordered, hand help up, palm flat facing Mickey. "I call twenty minutes for a consult. Then you two can go all kissyface."

"Five." Mickey countered.

"Ten." Jack stated.

Mickey scowled but nodded.

Jack jogged over to the lift, disappearing upwards to help Martha.

"You know he only wanted ten minutes anyway, right?" Gwen giggled.

"Yeah, yeah." Mickey nodded. "Gwen, I need your help."

"Oh? What with?" Gwen placed her reports aside.

He looked around to make sure no one could hear him. Ianto was looking pointedly away from him making coffee. "Right, can you please, please cover my shift tomorrow? And if possible stop Jack from bitching."

"What for?" Gwen asked him, already going over in her mind what she needed to do tomorrow.

He leaned close, cupping his hand over his mouth to keep even Ianto from hearing. "I'm going to ask Martha to marry me."

Gwen's eyes went wide and she gasped, hand over her mouth. "Of course!"

Mickey grinned and hugged her. "Fingers crossed, eh?"

"Definitely."

* * *

"I love the bay at night." Martha said as they walked along the pier, fingers entwined.

It was chilly and the two both had on light jackets to fend against the night air. She'd gotten through her consult as quickly as possible, put up all her supplies – Ianto's help had been declined tactfully – and the moment she was done the two were out the door.

"Me too." Mickey agreed, more nervous than he'd ever felt before.

"How's your week been?"

"Nice enough. Amidala decided to chew a hole in her teddy bear so she's whining about having no stuffed toys. You?"

Martha laughed. "New cadets. I've dealt with more whining this week than I do when you get hurt."

Mickey staggered playfully and clapped a hand over his heart. "You wound me, woman!"

She giggled and nudged him with her freehand. "It's true."

"Yeah. Let's stop." He indicated a bench for them to sit on where they could see the bay and it was still light enough to see each other.

They sat quietly for a minute or two, just watching the stars that were just starting to shine as Mickey fiddled with the ring box in his pocket.

"So…I've been thinking lately." Mickey said, his hand still clasping hers. He was trying hard to keep from breathing hard.

"About anything good?" Martha asked cautiously.

"I'd like to think so." Mickey smoothly pulled the box from his pocket, slipped off the bench onto one knee. He opened the box as she gasped and smiled. "Martha Jones, will you marry me? For real this time."

* * *

**[AN: My partner is on vacation in a different timezone right now with no internet. She won't realize I've posted this for several hours if not days. I find this way too funny but...There you go, Mickey's side of things or well glimpses into his side. I'm sure we'll get Martha's eventually.]**


	3. Jack and Sarah Jane

Most believe Sarah and Jack's relationship started in early 2009 when they met on the Dalek Crucible and they only got closer in the months afterwards when they played Taxi to Mickey and ended up talking more and more; months when Jack was no longer a 'Torchwood thug with guns' and obviously trustworthy if he were an ex-companion of the Doctor.

They'd be partially right. They did only start becoming friends after the Crucible, but they met much earlier.

* * *

**1974**

* * *

Jack smiled to himself as he saw who it was holding onto the video tape he needed. The tape held evidence of an alien landing and that meant it was property of Torchwood. Who knew what could happen if someone else got it, let alone UNIT. UNIT would lord it over them that they'd managed to get there first.

"Hello, beautiful." Jack said cheerfully, eyeing the woman. She couldn't be far out of her teen years, with short dark hair and eyes that were lit up with excitement. She had to be nearly a foot shorter then him which made what he needed much easier. "You've got something I need."

She moved and held the tape behind her, "Sorry, I've no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Jack said, walking closer to her, noticing she was backing up even as he moved, her eyes searching for something he wasn't sure of.

"I'm honestly not sure what you want." she replied, sounding nervous.

"I'm sure." Jack had her backed against a wall now and couldn't help the small smile."Why don't you just hand over that video, hmm?" Jack asked with a low seductive tone, leaning in closer to the shorter woman till their foreheads were almost touching. "That's a good gi – ugh." Jack grunted as a deep sharp pain filled him, darkness and stars encroaching over his normal vision as he found himself doubling over and falling to the ground.

He heard a man chuckling and looked up to see Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, that stupid UNIT pretty boy, standing near the annoyed looking woman who had deadly aim and more strength than someone that little should have.

"Mr. Harkness," the Brigadier said, pointedly not using his title, "I see you've met my new friend Sarah. Sarah, ignore the stupid little man. He's Torchwood and thinks he's much more suave then he is." the Brigadier told her as she handed him the tape Jack had been trying to get.

"I think I've taught him not to try that for a while." Sarah replied, arms crossed as she glared down at Jack.

"You'd think so. Liz did that to him twice and Benton's bloodied his nose at least once," the Brigadier chuckled again, "That man never learns."  
Jack was left groaning on the floor as the two left just as quickly, one mentioning something about "the Doctor", making him wish he could follow them.

* * *

**1978**

* * *

"Oh God..." Sarah Jane groaned and turned to walk away the moment she saw a certain dark haired man walking towards them from the other end of the street. "Run."

"Why?" Harry asked, looking around for a solid reason as to why she was tugging him back the way they'd come.

"Because the Torchwood pretty boy is-"

"Well, hello UNIT girl." Jack called out followed by a wolf whistle, "Looking sharp!"

Harry bristled indignantly, "Excuse me?"

"Don't worry, you look pretty sharp too." Jack told him with a smile, reaching over to pat Harry's butt as he dodged past him to Sarah Jane. She didn't stop or turn around so he resorted to walking backwards in front of her. "Never did catch your full name, Miss Sarah. Though I did catch your knee."

"I didn't offer my name." Sarah Jane replied curtly, "But I'm tempted to repeat that action."

"Hey, come on now, you know mine." Jack tried his dashing smile again. "Captain Jack Harkness and all that." he waved his hand to brush off the title as if it weren't a big deal but she didn't look impressed.

"Go away, Captain." she said in annoyance.

Harry finally over his shock, face bright red started moving again, jogging slightly to catch up. "What do you want?" Harry snapped, staying out of reach.

"Hmm, play a game?" Jack asked playfully, "Question for a question?"

"Fine." Sarah Jane sighed, "Why are you bugging me?"

"Cause you're hot and I'm bored?" Jack shrugged, dodging the smack she aimed his way. "What's your name?"

"Sarah Jane Smith." She replied with a sigh. "Why are you here?"

"Secret mission." Jack said brightly, "Why are you out shopping?"

"Baby gifts." Sarah Jane said indicating her head towards Harry. "What does Torchwood want with me?"

"You're a known associate of the Doctor." Jack said simply, "that makes you a valuable asset in the whole 'let's arrest him and hold him captive' mission."

"Bloody Torchwood." Harry muttered.

"Any more questions?" Sarah Jane asked once she was at her car, standing on the drivers side as Harry tugged open the passenger door but kept an eye on Jack's movement.

"Will you go out with me?" Jack asked, tilting his head a little, hands in his pockets and smiling brightly.

Sarah Jane turned slightly red and looked angry. "Not a chance."

"You say that now, but I've got time to wait!" Jack laughed when she sped off.

* * *

**1983**

* * *

Jack's eyes lit up as he recognized instantly a very familiar female partially behind one of the barricades set up to keep onlookers out. "Well, hello, Miss Sarah." He said in greeting, calling her the name he'd used purely to irritate her ever since he'd met her the second time.

She rolled her eyes when she recognized him. "Captain."

Somehow they kept bumping into each other over the years. Every time it seemed to be a battle of wits, a physical battle that left him bruised or started a Torchwood vs UNIT fight. That being said he LOVED running into her. She was smart, rather beautiful and knew about aliens and time travel. If only she'd agree to a date or even drinks.

"What brings you here?" Jack asked, ignoring the other people and leaning slightly on the barricade so he could talk to Sarah Jane and keep an eye on the crime scene where two of his co-workers were gagging trying to figure out what body part belonged to which person and what was alien.

"Interest." Sarah Jane replied, slipping into the old game. "Why's Torchwood here?"

"Non terrestrial matters, of course." Jack offered, "Any idea what type of creature is blue with eyestalks?"

Sarah Jane frowned, "No. What happened?"

"Not sure, not completely anyway. Looks like some weird fight."

"JACK!" a man strolled onto the scene and looked furious, waving him over.

"Oh, right...I do believe I'm not supposed to tell you anything."

It was five minutes at most before Jack was back at her side with a bright smile.

"So...My turn. Will you have drinks with me tonight? Just a local pub, doesn't have to be some fancy private place." he said, under orders from his boss to retcon her.

Sarah Jane tucked her notepad into her bag and smiled sweetly at him, something that should have been a bad sign, "Why not? Pick a place."

* * *

Sarah Jane made it to the pub before Jack did intentionally. She hurried to the large man tending the bar and smiled, trying to look sympathetic and a bit worried. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm meaning a man here...tall, dark hair, blue eyes and in an army coat. He's my ex and I'm worried he's going to try and pull something...I heard him talking and I think he's going to try and put something in my drink."

"You want him tossed out?" the Bartender demanded, tensing his muscles and eyeing the door carefully.

"No, I don't know for sure." Sarah Jane lied, knowing full well that Jack would have planned to retcon her on either bosses orders or for his own reasons. Poor man hadn't figured out yet that the more someone was retconned the less it effected them. After the last few times she'd started remembering more and more and now it probably wouldn't take away anything, but it was still the point of the matter. "Could you just...when he gets drinks, look away for a minute so if he's trying anything he'll do it and then...maybe switch the drinks?"

"You got it, miss." he replied with a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you so much." Sarah Jane smiled at him then took a seat at a far table, waiting for Jack.

He arrived about three minutes after her and, as she figured, he'd immediately gone to the bar. She watched the bartender distract Jack long enough to switch the drinks around and tried not to laugh.

"So, do you have an agenda in saying yes," Jack said, setting the drinks down and handing her the undoctored one. "Or is the fifteenth time the charm?"

"Fifteenth time is the charm." Sarah Jane replied cheekily, taking a drink and noting how bitter a beer he'd chosen. Probably done purposefully in an attempt to help hide the retcon or make it dissolve easier. "Beyond that, if I remember correctly we've only met ten times."

Jack smiled and took a large gulp of his own beer to hide it, "Is that so?"

"Yes." She said, drinking more just to make sure he kept talking while thinking she wasn't a threat to secrets. "Why's that?"

"Well, you've held sensitive information over the years." Jack shrugged, "My boss didn't like that so...All gone." he moved his hand to mimic the information being wiped away. "Still you know more than they'd like and even more we want to know."

"Like what?"

"How many times has the Doctor regenerated?" Jack asked, drinking more.

Sarah Jane looked down at her glass, oh so 1/3 the drink and he was confident she'd start giving answers. Must be high powered, whatever he'd stuck in it. "No idea. He's been away a while."

"Do you know where he is?" Jack looked eager.

"Not a clue." Sarah Jane shook her head, watching him now and trying not to look entertained. "Why does Torchwood want him? He's the enemy I know, but what do you want with him?"

"They want to lock him up and force him to help them with technology they've stolen and rule the future empire." Jack replied then looked stunned he'd said anything.

"And you?"

"I want to find out why I'm wrong." He said, eyelids starting to droop just a little. Obviously not just retcon then, some sort of sedative as well.

"Why you haven't aged since we first met?"

"Longer than that." Jack said, absently finishing his drink then freezing. He forced his eyes to focus on her, "You cheated."

"How so?"

"You switched our drinks." Jack mumbled, trying to snap out of it.

"Nope, not me. I'd never do something so underhanded." Sarah Jane said with a bright smile. "Goodnight, Captain."

She stood to walk away and he reached out, grabbing her wrist. "You win this round, but I'll get you back."

"Ah, now that'd require you remember what I did." Sarah Jane told him, easily withdrawing her wrist from his weak grasp even as the bartender made his way over. "I was right." she told the furious bartender, "Thank you so much for saving me."

"No problem, miss. Want us to call the cops?"

"No, I'd rather jut put this behind me." Sarah Jane forced herself to tear up, "He works for them anyway."

"Don't worry then," the Bartender told her with an evil look towards Jack, "we'll take care of it."

"Thank you, so much."

* * *

It was twenty-six years before Jack found out why he'd woken up covered in bruises and blood with a broken arm. Sarah Jane had laughed a lot when recounting what she'd done, Gwen had laughed at him as well, only Martha had looked sympathetic in anyway.

* * *

**January, 2000**

* * *

"Hello, Captain." Sarah Jane said, moving to sit across from him at his café table outside. She'd heard about four deaths of people she knew to be Torchwood up in Cardiff, all on New Years, all close to when the clock struck midnight and couldn't help but be curious about it. That was all, curiosity and she'd deny to the end she'd been worried about Jack who she really didn't like...at all.

The conflicting emotions she held for him weren't helped by the fact he looked just like a man she'd known when she was a child. At first she'd assumed he was the son of the man she'd known, but then over the years he hadn't changed in appearance and once he'd admitted that he didn't age. She wasn't sure how it worked, but if she stuck around and put up with his flirting long enough she might find out why he was in 1961.

Jack looked up at her but didn't smile. "Hey."

No name, no flirtation and no irritating 'miss Sarah' said with charm? Something was definitely wrong here. "Heard there was an incident up here."

"Oh?"

"New Years." She said, watching as he paled and flinched. "Started wondering if maybe there was something big I should know about."

"No. Nothing big." He replied, tapping his fingers on the table top anxiously. He gritted his teeth, obviously upset, "Really, nothing. That's the worst."

"Nothing? That's not what I've heard." Sarah Jane said, not wanting to admit she was relieved he was still alive and healthy. "In fact, what I'd heard involved your co-workers."

"Don't!" He snapped, "I know you hated them, so don't act like you're sad."

"I didn't hate them, they irritated me, found me annoying, on more than one occasion tried to retcon or arrest me before they realized the Doctor and UNIT had put out a warning about even trying it," Sarah Jane said, unfazed by his growling tone or the anger he'd shown, "and the few times we interacted over news articles were fairly loud...but I did like Julie, mostly. She stayed back once when they came to lecture me," Sarah Jane told him, "I wasn't supposed to tell you, she was worried you'd be upset, but I signed her collection of 'John Smith' novels. I also brought her a stuffed stegosaurus when she was recovering from breaking her arm after pushing me out of the way of that blowfish." Sarah Jane said, noting he finally smiled some.

"I knew about her books, I just didn't know you'd signed them. Alex ranted about them and how they were 'outing alien secrets'. I don't think he realized how it helped lower public panic about certain aliens and kept them more secret."

"No one believes an alien from a book is a real alien." Sarah Jane agreed, "and if they see one it's obviously someone pulling a hoax or dressed up for fun."

"So, Miss Sarah," he said, looking a bit calmer, "you hear about Torchwood deaths so you head up to Cardiff. Does that mean you were worried about me?"

"Not even." she scoffed, "I'm relatively certain you could survive a zombie apocalypses by now."

"Ah, now that would be fun." He said wistfully, "Just me and a few weapons. I'd have to take the high ground, of course. Maybe seal off the top few floors of the tower."

"No, too high and you're trapped. Better to go for lower than 10 stories and well reinforced."

"Oh that won't work at all!" Jack shook his head.

They ended up talking about how to survive a zombie apocalypses for over an hour before they realized they were supposed to be antagonistic and Sarah Jane realized he was now the Torchwood Three leader.

He left the café feeling a lot lighter than he had two weeks and with a set plan in mind about how to proceed.

* * *

**October 1st, 2007**

* * *

"Are you sure we're not going to be arrested for this?" Tosh asked, shifting in the passenger seat of the Torchwood SUV.

"Nah, she may deny it fervently, but Sarah actually does like me." Jack said, keeping his eyes peeled for her address even as the sat-nav gave him instructions.

"So because a bunch of weird alien signals are going off we've got to drive to Ealing to politely request that some woman we're not supposed to mess with at all by edict of our 'enemy' and 'that fucking organization' hand it all over?" Gwen summarized.

"Yup!" Jack said cheerfully, pulling to a stop when told and observing the large house. "Should work."

"Says the man who wore a cup." Tosh muttered.

"Hey, experience dictates it's a good idea." Jack said, looking faintly embarrassed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and dug into the glove compartment, producing a bottle of cologne. Jack sprayed it on his wrists, rubbed them together and then rubbed his wrists on his neck. "What?" he asked when Tosh giggled at him, Gwen looked near laughter herself. "I don't want her smacking me for using pheromones to get my way."

"Has she done that before?"

"Yes!"

Jack lead the way and purposefully made sure he was in front of the girls when he knocked on the door.

_"Hey, no running on the stairs!" _a woman's voice rang out from inside before the door opened.

Gwen noted the woman was shorter than herself, but taller than Tosh and obviously older than both of them. She had long brown hair and was dressed rather nicely, even wearing a waistcoat.

"Captain." She said shortly, stepping outside and forcing them to take several steps back and shutting the door behind her.

"Miss Sarah." He greeted her with a smile.

They eyed each other for a moment, wondering who'd start the questioning game. Finally Sarah Jane gave in. "Why are you here?"

"Multiple weird and potentially dangerous alien signals. Why are there multiple weird and potentially dangerous alien signals coming from your house?" he returned.

"Baby gifts." Sarah Jane smirked at his face as he stared in shock.

"Who's baby?" he demanded, forgetting what he'd been meaning to ask.

"Mine. Sort of," Sarah Jane replied, arms crossed over her chest, "'Belated' gifts for my thirteen year old son from several planets and a few off Earth friends."

"Theta-Beta." Jack breathed out in shock, remembering the name the Doctor had used when he'd grumbling told Jack to find something for his child he'd never met and had yet to actually help conceive. "He's Theta-beta!"

"I hate that name." Sarah Jane grumbled, "It's 'Luke'."

Tosh realized Jack seemed to be in a state of shock so moved around him and smiled nervously at Sarah Jane. "Um, did you happen to be gifted with a Vinvocci tractor beam?"

"Yes." Sarah Jane said, studying Tosh. "You must be one of his new recruits. What's your speciality?"

"I work with technology they find." Tosh said, unsure of what to do or if she should answer but Jack still seemed a bit out of it. "I like putting it back together and finding out what it does. It's so interesting how much more there is out there to learn!"

"You just like learning it?" Sarah Jane asked curiously. "You don't want to say...build weapons?"

"No! Not really," Tosh blushed, "I mean, I can but I'd rather just find out all there is to know."

Sarah Jane nodded approvingly, "And you?" she asked Gwen.

"Um...I just want to protect the world, ma'am." Gwen offered, aware her gun was showing in it's holster. "By whatever means I have to."

"Hmm. I don't like guns."

"Why?" Gwen asked, feeling a bit unsettled by the look she was given.

"Being shot sort of puts you off of them."

"I said I was sorry!" Jack protested, finally coming back to his senses. "And you're one to talk Miss 'stray javelin'. You never said sorry."

"My Aunt told me never tell lies about being sorry, so I couldn't." Sarah Jane smirked as Jack blustered.

"Are you going to give us the dangerous tech?" Jack returned to the game.

"Nope." Sarah Jane smiled, "'If it's alien it's ours' doesn't apply to people you can't bully."

"What's a thirteen year old need a Gvonvix Ray gun for?" Jack complained, personally wanting to get his hands on it.

"He doesn't, neither do I. That doesn't mean you get it, however." Sarah Jane looked smug again, "I may not like it, but I do like you not having it. How'd Torchwood know what I have?"

"Tosh is brilliant and invented a way to track certain known hostile alien signals." Jack said, "Why didn't you ever tell me you had a kid?"

"It wasn't pertinent. Why do you care?"

"I don't." Jack crossed his own arms. Slowly his serious face melted away to a look of curiosity, "Can I meet him?"

"I'm not having Torchwood around my son." Sarah Jane said, "So no, you can't."

Jack sighed but nodded, "No chance you'll at least give us the Venusian items?"

"None." Sarah Jane agreed. "Goodbye, Captain."

"Till next time then, Miss Sarah." Jack said, turning to leave, knowing it was pointless.

"Bye." Tosh gave a half wave as she followed Jack.

"We're giving up that easy?" Gwen asked Jack. "Why?"

"She won't use any of it to try and do anything." Jack said, "I trust her...mostly. I just wish she'd trust me more."

* * *

**March, 2009**

* * *

"Torchwood, this is Sarah Jane Smith." Harriet said, introducing them.

"Looking good, Miss Sarah. Heard about the Sontaran, good work." Jack said, arms crossed and a dazzling grin in place.

"Yeah, well, I'm still staying away from your lot." Sarah Jane said, "too many guns."

"Yeah, well," Jack mimicked her, "You're still looking good."

"Not now, Captain." Harriet sighed.

* * *

"And we've got Mr. Smith!" Luke said excitedly, "He can link up with every telephone exchange on Earth. He can get all the phones to call the same number at the same time. Billions of phones calling out all at once!"

Jack laughed, "Brilliant. Definitely Theta-Beta. And you said I couldn't meet him."  
"His name is Luke!" Sarah Jane chided Jack. "And if it weren't for the end of the world you wouldn't have."

* * *

"Sarah Jane!" the Doctor nearly cooed at the screen when he saw everyone. "Who's that...Ha, Donna." he elbowed Donna, "Told you I'd see him eventually."

"Yes, well I still refuse to believe he's called 'Theta-Beta'." Donna scoffed.

"He's not." Sarah Jane protested even as Jack laughed at them.

"Oh, and Torchwood..Martha Jones!"

* * *

"And that's beefcake."

"And that's enough hugging." Mickey said, stepping away.

Jack caught sight of Sarah Jane and donned his serious face. He quickly stood up straight, boots together and saluted like a proper soldier. "Nice to see you again, Miss Sarah."

"I finally get to know who you really are," Sarah Jane said, hands clasped together, "and it's the end of the world."

"No where near." Jack countered. "Not with us on this case."

"There's something that can be done..." Sarah Jane said finally, understanding just how hard the next step would be. "I wouldn't but...I have a son to think of. He's only fourteen and he's alone down on Earth right now."

Jack lost his smile and turned serious once more, "I'm listening."

"It was given to me by a verron soothsayer." Sarah Jane said, pulling what looked like a large diamond attached to a heavy gold necklace from her pocket. "He told me it was for 'the end of days'."

"Is...Is that a warp star?" Jack asked in awe, taking it and hanging it from his hand by the chain.

"Yes."

"Anyone going to tell me what a warpstar is?" Mickey asked.

"A warpfold conjugation trapped in a carbonized shell." Jack said breathlessly, sounding like the Doctor for a minute. "It's an explosion waiting to happen, Mickey, a really big explosion." His eyes caught Sarah Jane's, "Are you sure?"

"My life or my son's life?" Sarah Jane said eyes wet but with a slight smile, "No choice to be made there."

Jack took a step forward then paused, "If I hug you are you going to knee me?"

"Not this time." Sarah Jane said, gratefully sinking into his hug for just a minute before they set about with their plan.

* * *

"Now, Sarah, what did you say Theta-Beta's name was?" the Doctor asked, typing on the console.

"Luke! His name is Luke." She repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, again setting Jack off into laughter. "And the computer is called Mr. Smith."

"Mr. Smith is a computer?" Jack demanded, laughter stopping. "You threatened to sick a computer on me?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Sarah Jane said smartly as even Martha laughed at Jack.

* * *

**One week later, Early March, 2009**

* * *

"Hey, Mouse." Jack waved in greeting as Mickey climbed out of Sarah Jane's little car.

"It's 'Mickey'." Mickey complained, moving so Luke could climb out from the back-seat.

"Yeah, yeah. Miss Sarah." Jack grinned at Sarah Jane and couldn't resist walking forward to offer his hand to Luke. "Hi, I'm Captain Jack Harkness."

"Um..." Luke looked sideways at his mother but shook Jack's hand, "Luke Smith."

"Nice to meet you, Luke."

"Stop it."

"Hey, platonic." Jack said, holding a hand up towards Mickey who rolled his eyes, "Even I'm not that low."

"What does that mean?" Luke asked.

"It means that the Captain is a very strange man and Mickey's well aware of that." Sarah Jane told him, opening the boot of her car so Mickey could get his duffel. "So, Captain, where is Mickey staying while here?"

Jack smiled, "His choice of the couch or my room which is down a ladder under my office."

"I think I'd take the couch." Mickey said, duffel over his shoulder.

"Good luck, Mickey. Call me if you need anything." Sarah Jane told him.

"Hey! Wait," Jack said quickly, "Why not stay? I'll show you the hub." He offered. "See where Mickey'll be working. We've got a Ptetradon..."

Luke's eyes lit up and he looked towards his mother eagerly.

Sarah Jane watched Jack, trying to figure out his intent then nodded, "Okay. Quick tour."

"Great!" Jack's eyes lit like Luke's did, "Want to take the visitors entrance?"

* * *

"So..." Sarah Jane looked around the hub, smiling as Luke played basketball with Mickey and Gwen. Gwen had offered to take Luke to see their other 'pet' but Jack had warned them that Luke wasn't to go near the cells or the morgue. "You're not only not ageing, but you're a companion, well, Ex companion, of the Doctor. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you." Jack said simply, "I mean, I work for Torchwood. Honestly I only started working for them so I could track him down. That and blackmail."

"Blackmail?"

"Of the 'work for us or else' type." Jack shrugged, clearly over it. "Remember the earthquake here a few years back?"

"Yes."

"I helped cause it two years or one hundred and forty-two years ago." Jack offered another secret up.

"Hm..." Sarah Jane watched Jack and had to smile, "Know the Loch Ness monster?"

"Myth." Jack scoffed.

"Zygon, actually." Sarah Jane laughed at the look on his face.

"No way...Any word on Bigfoot?"

"Have to ask around for that one."

"So, Miss Sarah -"

"Call me 'Sarah Jane', Captain." Sarah Jane told him.

"Only if you'll call me 'Jack'."

"Deal, Jack."

Jack grinned, "So then, Sarah Jane, want to go out for drinks? Catch up, trade stories now that you know I'm not some horrible evil Torchwood goon?"

"I don't know..."

"Hey, this is the forty-fifth time." Jack said, crossing his arms and mock scowling, "I think that means you have to say yes."

Sarah Jane shook her head, "Forty-fourth by my count."

"Fine. Want to go to dinner with me?" Jack smiled, obviously pleased with himself, "Different invite makes it count as forty-fifth!"

"Sounds like a good idea." Sarah Jane gave in. "But what about Luke?"

"Hmmm. Trust him here with Mickey and my people?"

"I trust him with Mickey." Sarah Jane said, "No offence to your people, but I don't know them."

"None taken." Jack told her, "Gwen!" He yelled across the hub, catching Gwen's attention as she wrapped her arms around a giggling Luke to get the ball.

"Yes?" she yelled back, stealing the ball and tossing it at the hoop, pumping her fist in the air as it went in.

"Order enough Pizza for you, Mickey, Luke and Ianto off the card. I'm going out with Sarah Jane for dinner!"

Luke and Mickey looked over curiously but both smiled and waved their goodbyes.

* * *

**Early April**

* * *

"Jack!" Martha dashed forward but it was too late, the alien dropped his gun and ran, leaving Jack bleeding on the pavement.

"Go!" Martha yelled at Gwen, waving in the direction the alien had gone.

"Right," Gwen took off after him, gun in her hand.

"Oh, God..." Sarah Jane hurried to Jack's side as well, thankful that Luke and Mickey had gone to get sweets 'because they could' and weren't at the plaza. "Jack."

"It's okay." Martha told Sarah Jane, not bothering to try and stem the flow of blood or do anything to bring him back.

"He's been shot, that's not okay." Sarah Jane snapped, kneeling by his side. "Oh, Jack...Someone call emergency."

"No, it's fine." Ianto said, trying to figure out how to keep her from realizing Jack could come back.

"He's dying!"

"He's dead." Martha corrected, using the palm of her hand to wipe a drop of blood off of his face. "Wait."

"Wait for what?"

She barely got the words out before a loud gasping inhale of breath came from Jack as he grabbed onto Martha's arm in shock, sitting up part way.  
His wound was gone. He was still soaked in blood but his wound was completely gone.

"Oh my God." Sarah Jane said, eyes wide.

"What? Which way?" Jack asked Martha, grabbing his gun.

Martha pointed it out, "Gwen's gone after him."

"Right...Sarah Jane...Martha, explain?" Jack asked, climbing to his feet and running after Gwen and the alien, leaving shoe prints of his own blood behind for a few steps.

"So...Unageing excompanion who can't die." Sarah Jane said weakly, "Just when I thought I knew everything."

* * *

Martha's explanation, while ludicrous, actually made sense. Too much sense, it was sad to hear why and how Jack stayed young and alive.  
It also made sense in explaining why he was exactly the same as she remembered as a child. Time Travel explained why he didn't know yet, which meant she'd have to keep watch until he knew.

She pulled out her notebook from her purse and grabbed a pen off of Gwen's desk where she sat in the chair.

Martha disappeared into their tiny kitchen to make something for Jack so when he got back he wouldn't have to resort to eating questionable leftovers to regain energy.

Luke and Mickey would be back soon and shortly after they'd be leaving for Ealing, and she wanted to leave a note for Jack just in case they were gone before he got back.

Of course she couldn't leave it in English, that'd be too easy for anyone to randomly read, so she stuck to the Universal Standard. It looked a bit like a cross between Japanese and Arabic and when done right was a beautiful looking language, if hard to translate on occasion. When done correctly it ended up in either one large diamond across the page or several smaller ones. It was also one Jack would have been taught since he was young since he wasn't from Earth.

"Notes?" Ianto asked stiffly, pausing by the desk.

"Of sorts." Sarah Jane agreed, ending one row of the strange letters and starting a new one.

"Hmm. Would you like some tea? I'm making coffee for Martha." he offered, tone still stiff.

"That'd be lovely, thank you."

* * *

She knew something was wrong the first sip she took of her tea.

It shouldn't have surprised her, every time Ianto handed her tea she almost felt like having Mr. Smith or Jack examine it. It was only the knowledge that the Doctor, or even Jack she was fairly certain, would flay the man alive if he put anything too dangerous in it that kept her from doing it. She had no idea what she did that made Ianto so mad at her, nor what made him act like he did but it was rather annoying. She'd ask him, but she didn't really want to create any more trouble. The only thing she knew was that he often looked extremely jealous when she or Luke were around.

So far he'd stuck to messing with drinks by adding too much sugar, or too little, making certain he got the drinks wrong but not adding anything to them really. Well, so far.

The familiar taste of retcon registered when she took her second sip. He'd tried to mask it with more sugar than normal, but the bitter taste was still there. The only liquid that fully dissolved retcon without leaving a taste was plain water; any other additives made it bitter.

Glancing over at Ianto she caught the smug expression on his face before he quickly masked it.

_'That little jealous Torchwood One arse...'_she cursed internally, happy that it didn't work on her any more.

Maybe she would have to try and figure out what she'd done to make him angry discretely.

* * *

"Ready to go then, mum?" Luke asked.

"Yes. Mickey?"

"Got my stuff." Mickey said

Sarah Jane folded the paper she'd been writing careful till it was a neat little square that she handed to Martha. "Make sure Jack gets that, please?"

"No problem." Martha said quickly with a smile.

Martha and Jack both acted a bit like lost puppies around her, Jack she could understand but Martha's reason was still a mystery. "Thank you."  
She paused by Ianto on the way out and placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning close so only he would hear her. "Retcon doesn't work on me, Mr. Jones. Better luck next time."

Ianto paled and stared after her as she left but she didn't see a reason to mention it to anyone.

* * *

**Mid April, 2009**

* * *

"Cant we just bash them both over the head and lock them in the storage closet until they stop acting so weird?" Gwen asked dolefully as the medic and their 'tech man' steadfastly ignored each other.

"I think that's against the law, Torchwood rule and morality." Ianto told Gwen seriously.

"Would help a whole lot."

"Or result in homicide." Jack came up behind them. He was worried just as much as the others, but realized at this time there wasn't much he could do to help beyond just listen to their problems. It was going to be worse when Mickey moved up to Cardiff, then he'd actually be there on the weekends when Martha was there.

"I'm cool with homicide,"Gwen replied, "If it means they stop being so awkward."

There was a loud siren noise that went off that signalled someone coming into the hub through the front entrance. Mickey looked up in anticipation.

Jack grinned and bounced over the railing, landing on the couch before stepping off and straightened his shirt for reasons unknown as moments later he was collided into by a teenager who slid on the flooring.

"Hey, Luke!" Jack laughed, pulling himself up off the ground and hauling Luke up with him. "Watch out, its slick. Ianto waxed."

"I noticed." Luke said, clearly a bit dazed as he brushed off his jeans. "Guess what!

"What?"

"We've got new neighbours!"

"I heard from Mickey." Jack said, smiling at Sarah Jane when she followed at a more sedate pace. "He said he made quite the..impact on your headteacher."

"Yes, he did." Sarah Jane agreed, "Left a dent and everything.

"I fixed it." Mickey grumbled, "I've got a few papers left to finish up and then I'm ready to go."

"Don't rush on our account." Sarah Jane told him. "We don't have any plans tonight, do we, Luke?"

"No. Not on Fridays we pick up Mickey." Luke said brightly, "Plans just get in the way."

"Here, mess with this till I'm done." Mickey said, tossing a Rubik cube towards Luke.

Luke sat down on the corner of Mickey's desk, messing with the toy and Sarah Jane sat down on the couch to watch them, smiling at Jack when he joined her. "That thing will be solved within a minute."

"Really?" Jack shook his head, "Impossible.

Thirty seconds later Luke held the finished cube out to Mickey. "Now what?"

Mickey stared in surprise then laughed, "Toss it to someone to scramble for you then start again."

* * *

Jack felt someone nudging on his mind, but it wasn't a curious presence. It wasn't someone trying to read it, but it felt more like a message being passed along.

He looked up from the checkers board where he was playing with Sarah Jane and searched the room. He found Luke staring off into space with a slight smile on his face, finished cube in his hands and let the nudging come through.

Not a message, a suggestion.

Suddenly all he could think about was lemon ice lollies and how brilliant they were and how amazing one would be right now. He could practically feel the ice melting in his mouth.

Luke was trying to give him cravings?

He looked across to Sarah Jane who didn't look like she'd noticed anything.

He put up with the craving for several minutes until Martha piped up.

"Why am I craving a lemon ice lolly" She said, exasperated as she shut her file and grabbed a new one. "I don't even like lemon!"

Sarah Jane laughed and Luke turned pink. "Sorry, Martha," Sarah Jane apologized, "I think Luke was broadcasting."

"I'm still learning." Luke said shyly.

Jack chuckled, "Here I thought he was just trying to convince me. How'd you know, Sarah Jane?"

"We're linked." Sarah Jane shrugged, "Long story," she said when he looked a bit intrigued, "Involving the moon nearly crashing to the Earth and a last minute attempt at saving someone's sanity. It's just a parental link, um they're sort of -"

"I know parental links." Jack told her, "I'm from the 51st, remember? There's quite a few of us that are a bit more psychically advanced." He said, a bit nostalgic, "Though I never tried to convince my parents to buy me an ice lolly that way."

"We're trying to work on vocalizing those sorts of things." Sarah Jane said as Luke turned a bit more pink. "Just because I can know what he wants without him having to speak doesn't mean I'm not going to make him speak."

"Ah, I loved that battle of wills! My brother-" Jack froze and shook his head.

"What about him?"

"He didn't speak till he was three." Jack continued quietly, "Didn't think he needed to."

"What's a parental link?" Martha asked curiously.

"Oh, hard to explain...I don't always know what he's thinking," Sarah Jane said, "Thankfully, that would drive me insane; he doesn't always know what I'm thinking, there are shields in place on both sides, but if one of us wants to get a point or message across we can. Or, in this case and most cases involving Luke, can send cravings."

Luke shrugged,"It works."

"Sometimes. If he gets too emotional I can feel it despite a block, I always know where he is...that sort of thing." She offered.

"That's both cool and very creepy." Gwen told her honestly.

"Very creepy." Ianto disagreed.

Jack tapped his foot and watched Luke, "Damn you, now I want a lemon ice lolly and I prefer cherry!"

"Lemon is better."

"No way!"

* * *

**May**

* * *

"This is so cool!" Luke exclaimed, looking around the flat in awe. Mickey's new flat was amazing to him.

"Very nice." Sarah Jane agreed with her son once she'd been shown around. "Good for you, Mickey."

Mickey grinned brightly ignoring the fact the puppy in his arms was trying to chew on his shirt buttons. "It's all mine."

"We get to do a sleep over, right Mickey?" Luke asked eagerly.

"Of course!" Mickey answered, matching Luke's enthusiasm. "Video games, junk food and movies is a must to break in a new flat. Right, Sarah Jane?"

Sarah Jane smiled, "I'll leave the junk food to the two of you. Jack's already claimed me for dinner."

"Oh?"

"I don't know his plans, but I'll have my mobile if you need me." she offered.

"This is becoming a very scary pattern." Mickey said, lips twitching in an attempt not to smile. "Every time you two are in the same town there's a date involved."

"It's not a date." Sarah Jane told him with a small amount of exasperation in her tone. "Just dinner between friends."

"Sure."

"It is!"

* * *

"Mickey is absolutely convinced we're on a date, by the way." Sarah Jane said as they sat in a quiet corner of the restaurant.

Jack always insisted on a corner table or booth if possible with his back to the wall so he could watch the entire room. She didn't blame him, if she'd gone through as much as he had she'd probably be that paranoid as well and since he put up with the few neurosis she'd shown, it could pass.

Jack shook his head, "I'd mock him and possibly hit him with something but Rhys was making fun of me for the same reason when picking Gwen up and Martha won't stop snickering." He sighed and shook his head but did smile, "I don't think they understand most of these 'dates' end up with us plotting UNIT takeovers, trading war stories or planning for a zombie apocalypses."

Sarah Jane laughed, "That's not all we do. There's also been retcon, a few fights, several times someone's ended up handcuffed to something and on occasion there have been drinking contests."

"I'm usually the one handcuffed to something and I have apologized for the retcon." Jack returned looking vaguely embarrassed. "Most of it wasn't my fault."

"Well, at least I'm now immune to it." Sarah Jane placated him, "Which makes it entertaining to say the least."

"Speaking of." Jack looked almost entertained, "Did you honestly draw a paycheck from Torchwood One."

"I never worked there." Sarah Jane said, face not conveying any emotion.

"No, but one of your alias was on as a 'consultant'." Jack crossed his arms and studied her, "Do I want to know why?"

"I knew the 'ghosts' weren't ghosts." Sarah Jane said simply. "I wanted to know what they really were."

"And you found out." Jack stated.

"Yes." Sarah Jane nodded grimly, "Hadn't had to fight cybermen in..well, years and found out quickly these ones weren't allergic to gold. Thank God the TARDIS was near enough for me to get supplies."

"You were there the day they invaded." Jack sounded surprised and sad.

"Yes. It's a long and not particularly happy story, Jack." Sarah Jane smiled weakly, "But yes, I was there."

Jack reached across the table to hold her hand in his, "I wasn't there till after but Ianto and the Doctor were there."

"I knew the Doctor, Rose and Mickey were there." Sarah Jane said, "But I didn't know Ianto was. I did, however, know he was Torchwood One. Since when do you hire them?"

"Since he tackled me with chocolate while chasing Myfanwy." Jack said dryly to make her laugh again.

* * *

**July, 2009**

* * *

"This isn't fucking COOL!" Jack raged, pacing back and forth, his boots clomping more than usual as he tried not to stomp.

"Mhmm." Martha agreed, flipping pages in her newest medical tome.

Jack had been yelling for the past hour ever since he'd located an engagement announcement and related papers on his computer for Sarah Jane.

"She didn't even tell us!" Jack flung his hands as he spoke. Instead of winding down he was getting louder and more emotional sounding. "That's just not forgivable. She shouldn't be with some stupid lawyer. She needs someone cool, someone dashing, someone amazing and awesome." Jack growled out, "Someone who knows about aliens and can keep up with her."

"Someone like you?" Martha offered, barely holding back amusement and sarcasm.

"Yes! No...no." Jack shook his head, "I've got Ianto." he added, brushing his hand through his hair more roughly than he'd intended. "But still!"

"What's got him wound up?" Mickey asked, showing up finally with Amidala, both still outfitted from Mickey's latest training exercise. He'd been training Amidala to start on missions with him for a while now and was just waiting on size mostly before she went on real ones.

"Sarah Jane's getting married." Martha said.

"WHAT!?" Mickey yelled nearly as loud as Jack. "When?"

Martha looked down at her watch. "Thirty minutes."

"Hell no!" Mickey exclaimed, "That can't be normal."

"What?" Jack whirled to look at Mickey, "She didn't tell you?"

"No!" Mickey growled, hands clenched. "This isn't normal, this isn't cool and we are not staying out of this!" He pulled his mobile out and looked surprised at the missed message from Clyde. He flipped it on speaker absently.

_"Mickey! You've got to get down here. Sarah Jane's getting married and we have no idea who the guy is. He's creepy on more levels than we can list and she hasn't noticed. She shut down Mr. Smith and gave me K-9. I know you guys all got invitations so stop your sulking and get your arses down here to fix this!" _Clyde's voice rang out with annoyance and worry, _"I understand Jack sulking away but come on Mickey, you've got to help!"  
_

Jack looked shocked, "I have no invitations."

"Us either." Martha said, closing her book and sitting upright. "Gwen hasn't mentioned it..."

"Fuck." Jack cursed and grabbed his coat, "Mickey, you and Gwen-"

"Fuck that." Mickey pulled his coat back on, "I'm going too!"

"Martha, call Gwen and-"

"Oh, no, I'm going with." Martha stood up from her seat, "Gwen and Ianto can watch the hub."

* * *

They arrived an hour too late, even with Jack's driving in the Torchwood SUV and the flashing lights.

By time they got there the Doctor had shown up and fixed everything, Sarah Jane and her kids were back home and everyone quiet.

"Hi." Luke said dully as he opened the door to discover his three favourite Torchwood friends.

"Hey, kiddo." Jack tried to smile, "Where's your mum?"

"Attic." Luke stepped back but looked at Jack with accusing eyes, "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"We never knew." Jack told him,"We didn't get any invitations or anything."

"I mailed them myself." Luke told him seriously.

"I'll find out what happened." Jack promised him,"I'm going to go talk to Sarah Jane but Mickey..."

"We're staying." Mickey and Martha said together quite eerily.

Jack nodded and took off up the attic stairs, leaving them to deal with the upset teenagers.

He found her sitting on the step in the attic next to K-9, papers strewn around the room in a weird pattern that he recognized from the hub. The Doctor'd obviously saved the day.

"Hey." He said quietly, crossing the attic to sink down onto the step on the other side of her, carefully avoiding K-9 who seemed to think it was fun to electrocute him for some reason.

"Hi." Sarah Jane responded just as soft.

"I'm sorry." Jack said, head bowed slightly, "I never got an invitation, no one told me."

Sarah Jane nodded in understanding. She didn't protest when his arm wrapped around her shoulder and didn't even let out a token whine when he pulled her into a hug.

* * *

**Late August, 2009**

* * *

"I don't know what it is, but it's spreading all over London rather rapidly." Martha said anxiously as she watched the TV screen where the news was playing. "Sarah Jane called and said Luke was sick and now this..."

"Somehow I don't think they're unrelated." Mickey mused.

"Doubt it. I'm getting my bag and heading down there."

"I'm going too." Jack said quickly, "I drive faster."

"Jack, I'm the doctor, not you."

"You're **A** doctor, but not the Doctor," Jack said teasingly, "I'll play nurse."

"Fine, but you're not allowed to handle any medical equipment." Martha warned him as she stuffed her bag full of everything they might need.

* * *

Once again the day was saved long before they get there, not too surprisingly as Sarah Jane and her kids seemed to be just as professional at the art of saving the world as the Torchwood team or UNIT ever were.

Martha still insisted on giving 'Patient Zero' a check up. Rani had stuck behind at Luke's request.

"So...Slitheen." Jack said, arms crossed over his chest. "Not shocked."

"I shouldn't have been either." Sarah Jane sighed, "Yet I let them trick us."

"Not really a bad thing to always believe the best in people." Jack said, "I'm relatively certain if you didn't I wouldn't be around."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Please." Jack scoffed and absently wrapped an arm around Sarah Jane's shoulders, "So...First time your kid gets sick and you call Martha?"

"Harry's out of the country." Sarah Jane said simply, trying not to look embarrassed, "Greg is a good Doctor, but not well versed in alien illnesses."

"You panicked."

"Rightly so!"

"I'm not making fun." Jack told her quickly, "Just remembering the first time one of my kids got sick and I had to deal with it on my own."

"'One of them'?"

"Hey, I've been hanging around Earth since 1869." Jack said when she laughed at him, "My birth control implant wore off the first time I died. It's safe to say I've had a few. Anyway, one I'm talking about was...1939." Jack said, "My baby boy's covered in bright red spots, sobbing and real hot to the touch. I completely freaked out. Seriously, there were emergency trips to a hospital and everything." Jack said, somehow managing to keep his face placid when she laughed, "Hey, I'd never had to deal with Chicken pox before!"

"You say baby, but to a parent that spans all ages."

"Timmy was about three months old, if I remember correctly. Three months later I sent him with a Nanny to hang out in the USA till the war was over." Jack told her, smiling a little. "Only kid I ever got to raise."

"What?"

Jack shrugged, brushing off the statement he hadn't intended to make, "Nothing really. Just..."

"So, which born is Timmy?" Sarah Jane asked, changing the subject in a subtle way of showing she knew but wasn't going to press."

"Eleventh." Jack said smugly.

"Eleventh? Out of...?"

"Thirteen confirmed." Jack smirked.

"Oh, god, the legends are true." Sarah Jane said with mock horror.

"Perfectly healthy!" Martha proclaimed, leading Luke into the attic, Rani not far behind them. "Only oddity being a birth defect a small portion of the population has."

"What?" Jack blinked.

"She thinks the fact I don't have a belly button is funny." Luke told him.

"Wait, defect?" Sarah Jane questioned.

Martha shrugged,"Some babies due to their births, surgery or really good medical care end up without belly buttons. Some adults end up without them as well due to any number of surgery."

Luke looked almost entertained, "Does this mean I don't have to hide my stomach?"

"Just don't do like Jack does and walk around shirtless for no reason." Martha told him, not bothering to hide a grin.

"She thinks she's so smart." Jack muttered but did smile.

"That's because she is." Sarah Jane said, smiling when Martha flushed slightly.

* * *

**September 2nd, 2009**

* * *

"What is your problem?" Sarah Jane demanded, finally fed up. Ianto had been somehow both ignoring and deliberately annoying both Luke and her all day.

They were there for Mickey and Martha's wedding, she'd even pulled Luke out of school and got permission to bring Clyde and Rani by Mickey's request. They'd actually paid Clyde to make the wedding cake - something he was very proud of - and got Rani to run the camcorder. She was secretly sure the last one had just been an excuse to make Luke happy, but didn't voice it.

"I have no problems." Ianto said tersely.

"Yeah, sure." Sarah Jane looked at her watch then around the hub. "You've got five minutes before Jack comes back in here looking for either of us so just say it already. What's so bad about Luke and I that you feel the need to act like this. Don't deny it, I've been watching since March, before you retconned me even."

"You're a time traveler." He said, teeth gritted.

"That's your issue? So are Martha, Mickey and Jack."

"They traveled for months at best." Ianto took a breath and she noted how red he was turning, "You were with **him** for **YEARS**. Torchwood knew about the two of you."

"Knew what?"

"Knew you were his..." She could almost see the word formed on his lips before he swapped it last minute, "Woman. You have his child. We're...we were under orders not to go near you though. You traveled for YEARS, you know all that's going to happen and you never bother to try and stop it. You knew that..monster that brought the Daleks through. We heard it later, you were there when he created them and you didn't stop it!" Ianto yelled, "You were at Torchwood One when it fell and you didn't do anything! I saw you, Lisa and I were running trying to get to safety and you were just...there. You didn't save her, you didn't save us and you could have. You and the Doctor but you never did."

Ianto tightened his hands into fists to keep from doing anything. "Your son is his, he could probably see things just like him and knows the future like you and yet he puts on this oh so innocent act. He could kill all of us or make us all commit suicide while making us think it was all our idea if he wanted and you don't control it. You and Jack, you both think it's 'funny'!"

He took a deep breath, trying to control the fact he was shaking, "And you know all it would take is the right smile and Jack, Martha and Mickey would leave this place and never look back. You could take him like you want to and he'd never come back." Tears were threatening now, "You two flirt all the time, you go on your dates and act like it doesn't matter but it does. It does and you've taken or let everything else be taken from me, why do you want to take Jack?"

Sarah Jane just watched him, face placid. "Technically I knew Jack first, so it wouldn't be taking him." She said evenly, not raising her voice despite his yelling. "I can't change the future, some things are set in stone but I try to help what I can. Ianto, I-"

"Ready to go, Miss Sarah?" Jack asked, strolling into the hub dressed up in a suit. He wore a basic black suit, buttoned in the front with a light blue tie that matched his eyes. "It wouldn't due to have the Officiator and the Best Man late."

Sarah Jane schooled her emotions and smiled at Jack, "I'm not Best Man."

"Well, woman." Jack inclined his head and grinned, "You're standing for Mickey so we're counting it."

She rolled her eyes but did take his arm when offered, "Luke and Clyde?"

"With Mickey and Rhys waiting." Jack told her, "Sure you don't want to come, Ianto?" Jack asked, not noticing anything was wrong.

"Someone has to watch the rift, sir."

* * *

**September 6th, 2009**

* * *

"What's going to happen?" Rani asked, hands clenched as she stood in the attic watching Mr. Smith's screen.

The news he had up was broadcasting alternately the very little information they had on all the children freezing at once and information about the 'terrorist' attack up in Cardiff. It didn't take a genius to connect the two, at least not for those who knew of Torchwood.

They were all worried about what would happen to the children, what had happened to Gwen, Jack and Ianto, and if they had...they didn't think that way.

"I don't know." Sarah Jane admitted, flipping her phone in her hands nervously. Luke was gone, off planet somewhere safe with the Doctor, but she still had two 'kids' here to keep safe. They hadn't been affected when the young kids had stopped and she'd quickly realized that only children under twelve were being affected. "I have no information on any of this. It's not something I ever saw when with the Doctor. Despite what some people may think I don't know everything." she said, realizing too late how sharp that came out. "Sorry, Rani, that's not an argument you're part of." She said, crossing to hug her nervous friend. "I'm sure whatever happens we'll find out together, okay?"

"Okay." Rani nodded, "Do you think...if we do find out, I mean, we could try to help my cousins? I'm the youngest of my generation but some of my cousins have young children."

"We'll do our best." Sarah Jane looked down at her phone again.

"Call him." Rani nudged her. "You'll feel better. Call and check in."

Sarah Jane sighed, "It's not that simple. I want to, I really do, but if they're being tracked down and things like this are happening then it's not out of the realm of possibilities that their phones are being monitored. How would it look if they were contacted by a well known reporter?"

Rani winced, "Can't you call Rhys?"

"Same thing applies." Sarah Jane tried not to look as upset or nervous as she felt, "I have to wait till they contact me. They know that too."

* * *

**September 9th, 2009**

* * *

"Sarah Jane, I have an incoming message for you." Mr. Smith said as a beep was heard.

"Bring it up." Sarah Jane said quickly, getting to her feet and crossing the attic. "Who from?"

"Unknown wireless connection. Location...Cardiff."

Instantly a message popped up alongside several video files.

_"Um, hi, Sarah Jane,"_ Rhys said looking a bit nervous, _"I'm sending you these files just in case anything happens to us. Thing is, the worlds going to hell and it's all Torchwood's fault...Well, joint responsibility lies between Torchwood, UNIT and the Government for once. I've typed up what I know of it for you and the videos are...It's what's going on inside the Thames house. Video of the government plotting to kill our children, actually. We need you to hold onto these until we're absolutely sure we'll survive. If we...If something happens to us we need you to...well, out the Government. Don't let them get away with this. If they do manage it then tell the world, please. They'll believe you. Um...If there's any children you're close to then make sure to keep them home from school. That's where they're taking them from. They're taking the lowest 10% of the population from the schools for 'vaccines' and they won't ever come back..." _Rhys ran his fingers through his hair in frustration_, "They're at Thames house right now negotiating so this might all be worthless but just in case...Jack said to tell you he'll 'See you later, Miss Sarah' and to 'keep those kids safe'."_

The transmission cut off and Sarah Jane closed her eyes, standing in silence for a few minutes.

"Would you like me to play the video files?" Mr. Smith inquired.

"Yes. Back them up double, please." She said, grabbing a USB stick out of one of her desk drawers and plugging it into the computer. "Copy files to the USB."

"Doing so now."

She started tearing up a few minutes into the videos as she watched and took notes, all hand written on a notepad to be stuck away with the USB inside the safe.

"Sarah Jane, there's a news bulletin I think would be of great interest to you." Mr. Smith interrupted, pausing the video.

"What is it?"

"There seems to have been an attack on Thames house." Mr. Smith informed her as he flipped the screen to the news report.

_" -in what appears to have been a biological attack." _she caught the reporter mid sentence, _"Thames house has been locked down and it seems there are no survivors at this time. The Police are closing down the area now."_

"Turn it off." Sarah Jane snapped, stumbling backwards and sitting down on the couch hard. She slumped, head in her hands as she tried hard not to cry, but eventually she had to give in to the desire.

Jack was dead, he'd come back.

Rhys said Jack wasn't alone. _'they're at Thames House.'  
_

Jack would come back...Gwen and Ianto wouldn't. Martha and Mickey were still safe, far enough away from this that they'd avoid most if not all of the fallout and would live but...

She made a snap decision in that moment, heart burning for Jack and what he'd revive to and stood up. "Mr. Smith, patch me through a secure line to whoever the highest ranked officer online in PERU is right now."

"Sarah Jane?"

"We're not letting them die without cause. Jack..." Sarah Jane took a steadying breath, "Get me whoever is there."

"Contacting Dr. Liz Shaw now."

* * *

**September 12th, 2009**

* * *

Sarah Jane woke up to a loud knocking from the front door. A quick glance at her alarm clock told her it was just after five in the morning. She tugged on her housecoat and headed quickly downstairs.

She opened the door and barely held back the gasp of shock, "Jack!"

"Hi." He said in monotone. He looked bedraggled and obviously hadn't slept in quite a while. "I just...I had to see you before I left."

"Left? Come in," Sarah Jane motioned for him to come inside and shut the door behind him. "I'll make tea."

"That's okay." Jack shook his head in the negative. "I don't want to put you out this early. I...I can't stay, Sarah Jane." Jack bit his lip and closed his eyes tight, obviously fighting against some emotion. "I killed him. I killed my grandson. I sentenced eleven kids to a fate worse than death and I never even...I stopped thinking about them."

"Jack..."

"It's all my fault, I can't stay." He told her, urging her to understand, "I can't stay."

"Where do you plan on going?" She asked him quietly, aware that no amount of begging or pleading would change his mind at this point.

"I...I don't know. Somewhere else...Just around the Earth." Jack said, honestly unsure of his destination but knowing he couldn't stay in the UK.

"Right...Okay." Sarah Jane took a deep breath and nodded. "Right...You go on your walkabout but once it's over you come right back, understood?" She fiddled with the catch on the bracelet she had on, just a simple silver chain with little charms attached but it was one that Jack had given her for her birthday in May so it did mean something. She unhooked it and grabbed his arm, holding it out. She fastened it around his wrist, adjusting it to fit and spoke, "But while you're out there you keep this with you, just so you remember why you've got to come back. If you don't come back I'll lose my favourite bracelet." Sarah Jane looked just as serious as Jack did, "And while you have it you'll have my luck."

Jack moved his wrist once she released it and felt the charms jangling against it. "Guess I'll have to come back then."

"Yes, you will." Sarah Jane pulled him close into a hug, resting her head on his chest, "You'll always have something to come back for, even if this time it's jewellery."

Jack smiled slightly and hugged her tight, "Yeah. Thank you...for understanding."

"Sometimes your city just isn't big enough to forget." She told him when she stepped back. "You need a change of scenery."

"Exactly." Jack placed his hand on the doorknob and looked sad again even as he opened it.

"If you ever need anything at all you contact me." Sarah Jane told him."I mean 'anything'; a place to say, bail money, someone to listen..."

"I will. I'll see you later, Miss Sarah."

"Goodbye, Captain." Sarah Jane replied, watching him walk down the drive towards the street where an unknown grey car was parked.

* * *

"The Earth wasn't big enough?" Sarah Jane asked Jack as she walked up behind him. He sat perched on the waist high wall that surrounded the edge of the roof, feet dangling as he looked down at the city below.

"No, it wasn't...Won't be." Jack tried to find the right tense. "Wasn't for me, won't be for me. I didn't leave till March."

"Ah. How far out did you get?" She made her way closer to the edge, but stayed back some.

"Space station in the Sigma Quadrant." Jack said, "One that was mostly made up of bars and unsavoury characters if my memory is right."

"Sigma Quadrant? That's not very far for having ran three years." Sarah Jane suggested calmly, no judgement in her voice.

"I will come back." Jack said, staring into the distance, eyes tracking the movement of the cars.

"And then you'll leave." She didn't need him to tell her it was a secret to understand.

"Yes." Jack nodded and patted the edge of the wall next to him, "Come sit with me."

Sarah Jane inched closer to the edge but stopped with her hands on the wall, "I'm not sitting down here."

"I won't let you fall, just-" Jack winced, "Sorry, forgot, I'll move-" he offered, swinging one leg back over the wall to straddle it in an attempt at being nice.

"You're fine." she told him, not looking over the edge. "So if you will come back does that mean you've returned my bracelet?" she teased.

"Oh! Right." Jack dug into his pocket and pulled out the bracelet.

It was duller than it had been less than twenty-four hours ago but what really caught her attention was the hole that had been taken out of one of the charms side, leaving the metal bent backwards and the rusty colour it the charm and the links around it had become. "Sorry. I tried to keep it nice and safe but I got shot..." Jack looked contrite and genuinely embarrassed. "I actually had a piece of that charm stuck in me for a little while. I guess it slowed the bullet enough that it didn't kill me on contact and I wasn't going to revive where I was..."

"It saved you, at least for a while?" Sarah Jane asked, tracing the charm with her thumb.

"Yes."

"Then don't be sorry." Sarah Jane tucked it into one of the pockets on her jeans. "Welcome back, Captain."

Jack smiled, "It's good to be back, Miss Sarah."

* * *

**October 3rd, 2009**

* * *

"Do I want to know where you got the lorry?" Sarah Jane questioned as Rhys backed the truck up till it was obstructing the view of her house from Rani's house completely.

The truck was large and obviously to be used for hauling very large or heavy objects but was painted a very plain grey colour. Transferring Janet would be hard enough without Gita or Haresh seeing. They'd wait until it was truly dark before loading her up and it was only sunset now.

"Bought it, of course." Jack said, "I'd never do anything less than legal."

"Says the bootlegging, retconning, kidnapping conman." Sarah Jane scoffed.

"I'm above the influence now." Jack said brightly. "What?" He asked when Sarah Jane laughed, "That's a whole concept in America...course they use it to advocate against drug usage..."

"All set, Jack." Rhys said, climbing out of the truck and shutting the door behind him. "What's next?"

* * *

"I still can't believe she's been behaving." Jack crouched near the doorway, watching Janet as she quickly consumed the meat he'd drugged. Hopefully, if Martha's measurements were correct, Janet would sleep the entire journey home. "Did Mr. Smith find anything on Weevils?"

"You know they're not really called Weevils." Sarah Jane told him.

"Eh, I've called them that long enough I don't think I'll change now." Jack brushed it off with a smile.

"Yeah, I know. And no, he couldn't really find anything much beyond names, not even an originating home world. Since that rarely happens, that leaves me with the belief they're either not large, not important enough to be written about or..."

"Or they're slaves in another larger civilization." Jack finished.

"Yes."

"Do you two have conversations?" Jack asked a few minutes later as Janet started to fall asleep in her corner. "I bet it gets boring."

"Not really." Sarah Jane said, finding no point in lying or pretending. "I can't fully mimic some of the sounds she makes and there's nothing really to chat about. She's...I'm not going to say unintelligent, because she isn't, but maybe...primitive? Most of what she says involves food, environment or threats."

"Like what?"

"Well, after three weeks I now know she prefers pork to beef and chicken, thinks that cold weather is the greatest and that she could probably kill me in under ten seconds if it weren't for the 'evil' chains." Sarah Jane said flippantly to make Jack laugh. "I've had better house guests."

* * *

"Hey, Sarah Jane?" Jack pulled her aside as Rhys started the lorry. Janet was bound and restrained in the back and Rhys was waiting on Jack. "I was just wondering...would you like to go out for drinks with me, next time I'm in Ealing or you're in Cardiff?"

"Don't we always?" Sarah Jane asked.

"I don't mean as friends." Jack said slowly, hoping his instincts weren't wrong. "I mean as in...a proper date."

"A proper date?" Sarah Jane repeated, studying his face. After a few seconds she smiled, "I'd like that."

Jack's unsure look was instantly replaced by a giant grin. "It's a date then."

"It's a date." She smiled back at him.

* * *

**[AN: Updating on the sly while my partner's at work. She's going to get home and be baffled as to why I'm giggling till she checks her email. Anyway, here is the snapshots of Jack and Sarah Jane as promised. It took a while to get this out because their relationship is just so...complex, I guess you could say, and quite a long one...Anyway, I hope you enjoy. This has become one of my favourite pairings, right after Doctor/Sarah]**


	4. Christmas Drinking

"Okay, Doctor, we're going to engage in an age old deeply respected Human mourning ritual." Tish declared as she found him glaring at the pool in the library.

"And stop acting like sullen teenagers."

"What's that?" he asked sulkily. Tish sat a large jug of wine onto the table couch next to him along with a bag full of bottles of ginger beer "We're going to drink, tell embarrassing stories about the dead, laugh, talk about their lives and cry or pass out at the end." She said shoving a bottle into his hand.

"You hated the Master." the Doctor said dismissing it.

"Yes, and you hated Lucy." Tish sat down next to him on the couch. "This might get interesting." She said as she opened the jug and poured some into a plastic cup.

He looked at the jug and then at the bottles, "I think we might need more for that." He said shaking his head and took a drink.

"We've got reserves." Tish told him, drinking deeply from the cup.

* * *

_**Four Ginger beers later**_

* * *

"-in my defense the professors never said it was off limits." the Doctor gestured wildly with his hands, "So we turned the front stairs into a giant slide, all ten of us – and got our mattresses from the dorms. I've never laughed so hard in my life as when I saw that look on Ushas's face as she bowled straight into the headteacher." the Doctor turned red, holding his sides as he laughed.

Tish shook her head and giggled, "You were a horrible child.

"Oh, I really was!" -

* * *

**_Six Ginger beers later -_**

* * *

"Then my boy, he's THREE years old, barely old enough to be considered a Time TOT and not an infant, starts playing with his little science kit that his Goddad got him." the Doctor gestured with his hands to indicate the size. "Which wouldn't be horrid if he didn't have his mothers scientific curiosity and genius, my control skills and a large lack of foresight – we're not sure where that trait comes from." he brushed it off even as Tish giggled. "Next thing I know Koschei and I are running as fast as we can to shut down the black hole he created, fix the citadel and keep my wife from finding out what her son nearly did."

"Doctor!"

"I was never trusted to watch him alone ever again and the Council threatened to take away my looming rights! It was horrendous." the Doctor said, but he was laughing hard enough it took away any sting the intended story might have had.

* * *

The Doctor gestured with his hands trying to get Tish to understand the full magnitude of his story. "Then he says 'you will obey!' and Jo kicked him in the shin!" he howled with laughter. "It's hard to look serious when you're whining about humans."

"I believe it." Tish giggled, "She was feisty!"

"You've met?" the Doctor asked, taking a swig of his ginger beer.

"Met them all." Tish replied, refilling her cup. "Well, a large portion of them."

"How?"

"I took care of the prisoners." Tish drank from the cup. She was starting to feel slightly floaty and a bit maudlin, but that was the point of this.

"Yes, Jack." the Doctor nodded.

"Jack wasn't the only prisoner we ever had." Tish told him.

The Doctor's eyes went wide, something that was almost comical when paired with the slightly buzzed look he held overall, "No..."

* * *

"I wanted to help, I really did." Tish said, knees curled up to her chest, "but best I could do was just hold his hand as we walked to the room you two were in." Tish took a drink and shook her head, "I offered to try and help him run but he chuckled -Seriously, he CHUCKLED at me – and stated that I needed to 'let things run their course' because you were on the case and that 'the men will handle it, there's no reason to let the women get their hand's dirty'." Tish scowled at the Doctor who was no longer breathing in his laughter. "I would have punched him if he weren't so adorable and old! What type of man acts like that. I'm shocked he didn't tell me to get in the kitchen."

"He would of," the Doctor gasped for air, "But none of the women he knows can cook, just the men!"

* * *

"-And poor Fred, she's trying to give a presidential address but I'm sulking. I've got Leela off to the side and well, I WAS BORED!" he tried to reason and get Tish to believe his side, "And the sonic was new and Leela didn't stop me so it was partially HER fault and really I didn't know that setting would screech like a banshee and knock half the hall unconscious!"

"Oh, God, what'd you do?"

"What does any man do in that situation?" he replied, drinking deeply, "I blamed it on Leela and ran like hell!" M

* * *

Tish was sobbing in the Doctor's arms "He...he looked so scared, laying there, the Master was just laughing and kept probing his mind. He was just a kid." she sobbed, "I ran into him, rugby tackled the Master aside and I...I was holding him trying to keep him safe, and I thought...I thought he was going to kill me, but then..." she sobbed into the Doctor's chest as he held her. "He...he had his sonic pointed towards us, and the kid was screaming. Lu...Lucy saved us."

"How?"

"She knocked him out," Tish laughed shakily, "With a lamp after I screamed. We both regretted it later but he...he died in a temporary peace."

* * *

Tish laughed as she took poured another drink, emptying the jug. "There were these two ladies, they looked Mum's age, or at least one did. He was chasing them around for ages, they were always sending him videos, pulling faces and calling him names. He always screamed when he saw them. They were only two people I saw who I didn't see die."

The Doctor laughed mirthlessly, "Nyssa... Nyssa and Tegan, They saved the kids, escaped off planet."

"Yeah. We saw them in Australia." Tish nodded, "Weirdest moments ever."

* * *

Tish and the Doctor giggled. "I...I can flip people off in 30 languages. The...The Brig taught me." the Doctor slurred, "See?" he said clumsily modeling the motions. "Yeah...Yeah that old guy did that, M.. Martha's boss, he" Tish smothered a giggle, "he did that to the Master."  
"That'd be him!" the Doctor giggled, "He's brilliant!"

* * *

"I didn't really mean it, just...I...wanted to make it go away. I...I was so angry and they...they didn't help. Those overprotective jerks. Did...Did you know they they "cleaned" my house, took everything, everything Leo...Leo the jerk he took my floss! I had to eat with a baby spork for near a month!"  
The Doctor winced but didn't comment. "I got so angry that I...I screamed at her, couldn't take it anymore, I called her everything I could, told her I hated them all and told her to get out. Didn't speak to her for months. N...Not to any of them, it was their fault, they didn't do anything!"

"You hated them?"

"I hated everyone." Tish elaborated, "I hated mum for ratting us out to a man she didn't know, I hated Martha for forcing him to open that stupid watch and for running away with you in the first place, I hated Jack for not stopping it and most of all I hated you for allowing it to happen. The anger went up exponentially when you forced Lucy into prison without a trial and tried to let that...man live." Tish nursed her drink and avoided his gaze.

"That me...I did a lot of bad things to good people." the Doctor sighed, his eyes slightly unfocused, "Lucy, Adelaide, Harriet, Donna...Do...do you still hate me?"

"Not anymore." Tish told him honestly.

* * *

"Then-then Zoe and I find the source of these very unmanly shrieks; Jamie had gotten himself trapped by his ankles in one of those tree traps!" the Doctor said, turning red as he laughed, "Which is bad enough but he's hanging there, upside down in a kilt!"

"Oh, God." Tish laughed, holding one hand across her stomach to keep from falling.

"He's shrieking and trying to both get down and preserve his modesty with his kilt and it's not working. We had to cut him down!" the Doctor laughed and went to put his hand down again but missed the table, sending himself tumbling off his chair and into the pool.

* * *

"Oh good lord." Jack groaned, watching as the Doctor floated drunkenly and still fully clothed in the centre of the pool, arms out to his sides and his ears just underwater. "Rory, do you want to get Tish to her room or-"

"Could you?" Rory said quickly. "I mean, we're dating but...modesty? I don't want her getting mad at me." Rory admitted.

"Fine, but you have to deal with him." Jack indicated the giggly Time Lord even as he walked over to Tish. "Miss. Jones, you're drunk."

"Yes. Yes I am." Tish nodded then stopped and blinked, trying to clear away the dizziness. "Your point?"

"C'mon." Jack hauled her up and to her feet, supporting her, "Let's go get you to bed."

"Won't Sarah Jane be mad?" Tish giggled and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Oh, how my life is over." Jack said monotonously, "I will never flirt again. Don't worry, I'm obviously too scared of my girlfriend and your boyfriend to try anything, can't you tell?"

* * *

"Where's the Doctor?" Jack asked, relaxing back on Tish's couch. He'd gotten her changed into pyjamas and tucked in without much complaint on her part. He'd learned over the years that taking care of drunk people was not unlike taking care of a two year old and always tended to act accourdingly.

"Last I saw he was trying to ride Arthur backwards through the gardens while complaining about the lack of cool hats in his area." Rory said, sitting down next to Jack. "Tish?"

"In bed, sleeping sound. She's going to be hungover tomorrow." Jack grinned.

"You're going to be mean, aren't you?"

"Yup."

There was a loud knock at the door and Jack climbed to his feet, looking quizzically at Rory and then moving towards the door.

"Oh, yeah, he may have been on the phone as well." Rory called after Jack.

Jack returned moments later with two large boxes from a pizza place and an annoyed look on his face. "That man owes me."

"He can pay us in Pizza, what's he got?" Rory sat forward on the couch.

"Mushroom and bacon and...I think that's pineapple and peppers." Jack made a face and stole a slice of the first one. "Can't fault his logic but can complain about his taste buds."

"Hey!" the Doctor whined, coming into the living room looking a little worse for wear, covered in gras stains with a daisy stuck in his hair. "That's mine!"

"I paid for it." Jack said, mouth full, "That makes it part mine."

"You know, Jack, I can see why Sarah likes you." the Doctor said, making his way to the coffee table where he stole the entire box of the pineapple pizza and plopped down in the recliner. "You're-"

"Don't finish that." Rory pleaded, grabbing a slice of pizza, "I don't want to be sick."

"Cute." the Doctor finished, sticking his tongue out at Rory.

"No more ginger beer for you." Rory said warningly even as Jack laughed.

* * *

**[AN: Wow, so finally the one-shot of the Christmas Drunk fest. My partner said this is what I had to post to night in honour of my 21st birthday. It's short, it's weird, it's...Us. Hope you liked it.] **


End file.
